MASTER 
NEGA  TIVE 

NO.  93-81508 


MICROFILMED  1993 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES/NEW  YORK 


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AUTHOR: 


HOUCK,  FREDERICK 
ALFONS 


TITLE: 


OUR  PALACE 
WONDERFUL 

PLACE: 

CHICAGO,  ILL 

DATE: 

1915 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

DIDLIOGRAPHIC  MirRQFORM  TARHFT 


Masler  Negative  // 

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Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


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Our  pulnce  wonderful;  or,  "un's  plneo  in 
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Refractixo  Telescope   (3r»  I.\s.) — In  Lu  k  ouskkvatory. 

Mt.  Hamilton,  Cal. 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


OR 


Man's  Place  in  Visible 
Creation 


BY  THE 


REV.   FREDERICK  A.   HOUCK 

1 1  • 

Author  of  "LiFB  of  St.  Gerlach" 


"Thou  art,  O  God,  the  life  and  light 
Of  all  this  wondrous  world  we  see; 

Its  glow  by  day,  its  smile  by  night. 
Are  but  reflections  caught  from  Thee.' 

— MOORB. 


Second  Edition 


D.    B.    HANSEN    &    SONS 

PUBLISHERS 

CHICAGO,   ILLINOIS 

1915 


Reffjactino  Telescopk    (.}*'»   Ins.) — In    Lu  k   (Utsusx  a  ioicy 

Mr.  Hamilton,  Cai,. 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


OR 


Man's  Place  in  Visible 
Creation 


BY  THE 

REV.   FREDERICK  A.   HOUCK 

Author  of  "Life  of  St.  Gerlach" 


"Thou  art,  O  God,  the  life  and  light 
Of  all  this  wondrous  world  we  see; 

Its  glow  by  day,  its  sviile  by  night. 
Are  but  reflections  caught  from  Thee." 

— MOORB. 


Second  Edition 


D.    B.    HANSEN    &    SONS 

PUBLISHERS 

CHICAGO,   ILLINOIS 

1915 


MOV  r  Q  >f8 


fltbil  Obetat:^ 

RAPHAEL  KINNANE,  D.  D., 

Censor  Librorum 

Imprimatur:* 

|X|    JOSEPHUS    SCHREMBS. 

Epiacopua  Toletanua 

in  America 


]' 


\00 


THIS  BOOK  IS  AFFECTIONATELY 

TO  MY  BELOVED  PARENTS, 

ESTEEMED   TEACHERS, 

AND    ALL    OTHER 

BENEFACTORS 


Entered  According  to  Act  of  Congress  In  the  Tear  1914 

By  REV.  FREDERICK  A.  HOUCK 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at 
Washington.  D.  C- 


(All  Rights  Reserved) 


HAMMOND  PRKSS 

W.  ••  CONKKV  COMPANY 

CMICAOO 


TABLE     OF    CONTENTS 


chapter.  page 

Introduction    11 

I.    Refutation  op  Erroneous  Theories  on  the 

Origin  of  our  Palace  Wonderful 17-32 

1.  The  Agnostic  Theory 21 

2.  The  Materialistic  Theory 24 

3.  The  Pantheistic  Theory 29 

11.    The  Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator  .  33-84 

1.  Proofs  Furnished  by  Science  and  Revela- 

tion    33 

2.  Proofs  Taken  From  the  Sidereal  World. . .  40 

3.  Arguments  Deduced  From  the  Mechanism, 

Harmony,  and  General  Plan  of  the  Visi- 
ble Universe    55 

4.  Speculations 73 

5.  Catholic  Astronomers 77 

IIX.    The  Vegetable  Kingdom  Reflects  the  Wis- 
dom OF  THE  Creator 85 

1.  Preliminary  Remarks 85 

2.  General  Morphology  of  Plants 87 

A.  The  Stem 90 

B.  The  Leaf 91 

C.  The  Flower 93 

3.  The  Preservation  and  Propagation  of  Plants      98 

T 


8 


Table  of  Contents 


PAGE 
CTHAPTER. 

4.  The  Constituent  Simplicity  and  Amazing 

Variety  of  the  Vegetable  Kingdom 107 

5.  The  Use  and  Misuse  of  Plants 108 

A.  The  Use  of  Plants 108 

B.  The  Misuse  of  Plants  and  Forest  Con- 

servation       1^2 

C.  Coal  118 

6.  Botany  and  Religion 123 

IV.  Man,  The  So\treign  Tenant  of  the  Palace 
Wonderful,  is  the  Sole  Conscious 
Beneficiary  op  the  Creator's  Good- 
ness AND  Magnanimity  130 

1.  Man  is  Made  to  the  Image  and  Likeness  of 

the  Creator 133 

2.  The  Object  of  the  Creator's  Loving  Solici- 

tude in  this  World,  Man  is  Destined  for 
Eternal  Happiness  in  the  Next  World . . .     140 

V.  The  Study  op  Visible  Creation  Begets  the 
Love  op  Man,  as  Well  as  the  Love  op 
God 155 

Conclusion 169 


list  of  illustrations 

PAGE 

Thirty-six  Inch  Refracting  Telescope  at  Lick 

Observatory Frontispiece 

The  Galaxy,  or  Milky  Way  11 

Plate  I,  Map  op  the  Stars  21 

The  Sun   34 

Plate  II,  The  Solar  System  44 

The  Planet  Saturn   54 

Plate  III,  Comets  70 

Oak  Tree  (Quercus  Virginiana)   85 

Chrysanthemums    95 

Cotton   Ill 

The  Passion  Flower  123 

Trilua   133 

The  La  France  Rose  155 

Scenic    169 


TllK    (iAI.AXY,   OH    MlI.KY    \\  AY 


INTRODUCTION 

pERHAPS  there  is  no  natural  pursuit  of  the 
*  mind  so  well  adapted  to  afford  us  joy  and 
delight  as  an  intelligent  study  of  this  earth  of 
ours, — our  common  home.  Its  various  compart- 
ments are  only  partially  known,  and  yet  they 
reveal  a  striking  symmetry  and  beauty.  The 
more  we  learn  of  Nature,  the  more  we  are 
prompted  to  give  glory  to  Nature's  God. 

"If  one  train  of  thinking,"  says  Paley,  "be 
more  desirable  than  another,  it  is  that  which 
regards  the  phenomena  of  Nature  with  a  con- 
stant reference  to  a  Supreme  Intelligent  Being." 
Some  of  the  keenest  intellects  have  found  ex- 
treme delight  in  the  pursuit  of  the  natural 
sciences.  Thus,  in  the  Confessions  of  St.  Augus- 
tine we  read:  "The  contemplation  of  God  in 
His  creatures  gives  me  great  delight,  and  as 
often  as  I  can  find  leisure  from  other  necessary 
duties  I  repair  to  this  pleasure."— cf.  chap.  XL. 

Everyone,  even  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  can, 
if  he  will,  find  joy  and  recreation  in  the  con- 
templation of  our  grand  and  common  palace. 
Should  the  contemplation  of  this  rough  sketch 
impart  to  the  reader  some  of  that  delight  which 
I  daily  experience  when  dwelling  on  the 
grandeur  of  our  palatial  home,  I  shall  consider 
myself  amply  repaid. 


-  V  •  ,:f  -: 


The  Cm.axy.  or  Muky  Way. 


INTRODUCTION 

pERHAPS  there  is  no  natural  pursuit  of  the 
*  mind  so  well  adapted  to  afford  us  joy  and 
delight  as  an  intelligent  study  of  this  earth  of 
ours, — our  common  home.  Its  various  compart- 
ments are  only  partially  known,  and  yet  they 
reveal  a  striking  symmetry  and  beauty.  The 
more  we  learn  of  Nature,  the  more  we  are 
prompted  to  give  glory  to  Nature's  God. 

"If  one  train  of  thinking,"  says  Paley,  "be 
more  desirable  than  another,  it  is  that  which 
regards  the  phenomena  of  Nature  with  a  con- 
stant reference  to  a  Supreme  Intelligent  Being." 
Some  of  the  keenest  intellects  have  found  ex- 
treme delight  in  the  pursuit  of  the  natural 
sciences.  Thus,  in  the  Confessions  of  St.  Augus- 
tine we  read:  "The  contemplation  of  God  in 
His  creatures  gives  me  great  delight,  and  as 
often  as  I  can  find  leisure  from  other  necessary 
duties  I  repair  to  this  pleasure."— cf.  chap.  XL. 
Everyone,  even  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  can, 
if  he  will,  find  joy  and  recreation  in  the  con- 
templation of  our  grand  and  common  palace. 
Should  the  contemplation  of  this  rough  sketch 
impart  to  the  reader  some  of  that  delight  which 
I  daily  experience  when  dwelHng  on  the 
grandeur  of  our  palatial  home,  I  shall  consider 
myself  amply  repaid. 

U 


12 


Introduction 


It  was  not,  however,  without  a  certain  mis- 
giving that  I  set  about  the  task  of  conveying  an 
idea  of  the  material  universe  as  the  temporal 
home  of  man.    Realizing  my  own  limited  ability 
I  could,  at  best,  hope  to  give  but  a  very  imper- 
fect description  of  the  immense  palace  in  which 
we  dwell.     And  does  not  Holy  Writ  say  that 
"It  is  impossible  to  find  out  the  glorious  works 
of  God"?  Eccl.  18:5.    He  who  acquires  even  an 
imperfect  conception  of  the  world  as  a  complete 
entirety  created  for  the  temporal  home  of  man, 
will  find  therein  a  never-failing  source  of  hope 
and  consolation.     Let  this  be  my  apology,  if 
there  be  need  of  any,  for  publishing  truths  with 
which  the  average  reader  is  already  familiar. 
The  material  I  have  used  has  been  given  to  the 
world  by  learned  and  self-sacrificing  scientists 
of  ancient  and  modem  times,  but  they  are  con- 
tained in  books  scarcely  available.    All  praise  to 
them  for  their  disinterested  researches,  and  all 
glory  to  God,  who  has  thus  deigned  to  manifest 
His  boundless  goodness  and  generosity  towards 
us  His  children. 

I  invite  the  reader,  then,  to  accompany  me  on 
a  journey  in  mind  and  spirit  through  our  pala- 
tial home.  I  do  not  promise  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  either  the  entire  palace,  or  even 
the  most  obscure  comer  thereof.  But  I  make 
bold  to  say  that  the  reader  will  lay  this  book 
aside  with  increased  wonder  at  the  temporal 
abode  prepared  for  us  by  a  loving  and  boun- 


Introduction 


13 


teous  hand.  And  who  will  deny,  that  wonder 
is  the  mother  of  knowledge,  and  a  fountain  of 
true  and  genuine  joy  and  delight?  How  many 
a  misguided  reader,  impelled  by  a  false  kind  of 
wonder,  takes  up  the  wild  and  unreal  produc- 
tion of  a  writer  of  fiction  and  wastes  his  time  on 
it  only  to  lay  the  insipid  book  aside  with  disgust, 
or  dissatisfaction. 

Man  is  the  maker  of  fiction,  and,  hence,  it 
cannot  satiate  nor  satisfy.  God  is  the  source  of 
truth,  which  can  be  discovered,  but  not  made. 
In  this  unpretentious  little  work  we  will  try  to 
find  and  to  appreciate  the  wonders  and  the 
beauties  of  the  material  universe  as  the  temporal 
abode  of  man. 

The  form  in  which  I  present  these  facts  and 
theories,  which  are  a  perennial  source  of  faith, 
hope  and  charity  to  me,  is,  perhaps,  the  only 
apology  I  can  offer  the  public  for  publishing 
what  is  already  known. 

"Since  all  things  have  been  said  by  men  of  sense, 
The  only  novelty  is— to  condense." 

—Focas. 

Fearing  lest  this  little  volume  become  too 
bulky  for  the  purpose  intended,  and  viewing 
man  as  the  acme  and  king  of  animate  creation, 
I  shall  treat  the  animal  kingdom  only  in  general. 

In  making  this  simple  sketch  I  will  avail 
myself  of  the  material  furnished  by  scientists 
and  philosophers.    For  the  ornaments  and  dec- 


14 


Introduction 


orations  I  will  draw  on  theology  and  revelation. 
Should  the  result  be  of  interest  and  instruction 
let  honor  and  glory  be  given  to  the  Heavenly 
Father  from  whom  every  best  gift  cometh. 

The  aim  of  this  little  treatise  is  rather  to 
confirm  the  believer  than  to  convert  the  unbe- 
liever.   Throughout,  I  endeavor  to  present  "the 
argument  of  design"  in  a  manner  that  will  not 
only  instruct  but,  likewise,  please.    It  takes  more 
than  reason  and  argument  to  convince  those 
who  stubbornly  refuse  to  admit  the  existence 
of  God.    For  such  I  have  only  pity.    I  request 
them,  however,  to  read  these  pages  with  an  un- 
biased mind.    Should  they  do  so,  I  am  sure  that 
they  will  find  their  present  attitude   towards 
Revelation  untenable.    To  the  man  of  faith  the 
examples  of  formal  order  presented  in  this  little 
work  will  be  a  source  of  moral  strength  and 
liveher  faith.     As  Sir  R.  H.  Inglis  well  says: 
"Every  advance  in  our  knowledge  of  the  natural 
world  will,  if  rightly  directed  by  the  spirit  of 
true  humihty,  and  with  a  prayer  for  God's  bless- 
ing, advance  us  in  our  knowledge  of  God  him- 
self, and  will  prepare  us  to  receive  the  revela- 
tion of  His  Will  with  profounder  reverence." 
"All  things  were  made  by  Him;  and  without 
Him  was  made  nothing  that  was  made." — John 
1 :3.    "Disce,"  ait  S.  Augustinus,  "amare  in  crea- 
tura  Creatorem,  in  factura  Factorem."    Learn 
to  love  the  Creator  in  the  creature,  and  the 


Introduction 


15 


Maker  in  His  work.  I  invite  all,  then,  to  quench 
their  thirst  for  the  true  and  the  beautiful  in 
nature  at  the  perennial  spring  of  science. 

"Nature  is  the  glass  reflecting  God 
As  by  the  sea  reflected  is  the  sun.'' 

^Toung. 


CHAPTER   I 

REFUTATION  OF  ERRONEOUS  THEORIES  ON  THE  ORIGIN 
OF  OUR  PALACE  WONDERFUL 

A  TEACHER  of  morality  in  the  United 
States  gave  utterance  some  years  ago  to 
the  following  wail :  "We  can  only  grope  toward 
the  light  while  we  guess  at  truth.  Creation  is 
one  conglomerate  conjecture.  No  answer  comes 
when  we  call  out  to  the  cosmos.  We  look  upon 
the  earth,  and  it  speaks  only  with  silence.  We 
look  above,  and  the  sky  has  the  pitiless  seeming 
of  the  changeless  sphinx.  We  call  again,  and 
not  even  an  echo  is  vouchsafed  us  from  the 
voiceless  voids.  The  surges  of  the  sea  murmur 
ever  of  a  mystery  too  mighty  for  finite  expres- 
sion. The  very  winds  whisper  to  us  secrets  v^dth 
never  a  solution.  The  unanswerable  questions 
of  *what?'  and  'why?'  linger  eternally  on  our 
lips."_Waller  Hurt  in  "The  Catling  Gun."  cf. 
"The  Catholic  Fortnightly  Review,"  June  8, 1899. 
Such  arc  the  gloomy  reflections  and  pitiable 
sentiments  of  many  a  misguided  creature  who 
is,  nevertheless,  ready  to  acknowledge  and  extol 
the  reasoning  powers  of  man,  and  the  results  of 
scientific  research.  And  yet,  should  we  have  no 
other  source  of  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  the 

17 


18 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Creator,  an  intelligent  and  unbiased  study  of 
Nature,  in  any  one  of  its  branches,  would  easily 
lead  man  to  the  certain  knowledge  of  an  Omni- 
potent and  All-wise  God.  For  the  material 
world,  if  rightly  viewed,  is  a  commentary  on 
God's  Revealed  Word.  The  more  closely  we 
examine  the  former,  the  clearer  becomes  our 
insight  into  the  latter.  The  natural  sciences, 
when  rightly  pursued,  shall  ever  prove  them- 
selves the  handmaid  of  Divine  RevelaUon. 

But  what  about  those  questions  on  which 
science  and  Revelation,  at  least  apparently,  seem 
to  disagree?     I  answer,  that  there  can  be  no 
lasting  opposition  between  science  and  Revela- 
tion, for  the  simple  reason  that  Almighty  God  is 
the  author  of  both.    I  speak,  here,  of  science  m 
the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  not  of  a  "science 
falsely  so  called,  which,  some  professing,  have 
erred  concerning  the  faith."     I  Tim.  6:20  and 
21.    The  man  who  is  actuated  in  his  researches 
by  a  stubborn  insubordination  to  everything  that 
argues  design  in  the  material  universe,  may, 
perhaps,  acquire  great  erudition,  but  his  knowl- 
edge will  never  be  a  scientific  knowledge;  it  will 
be  of  the  kind  "that  puffeth  up,"  II  Cor.  8:2, 
and  blinds  the  man  who  permits  himself  to  be 
biased  by  it.     Although  "professing  himself  to 
be  wise,"  he  who  acts  thus  "becomes  a  fool," 
Rom.  1 :22;  for,  "the  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart: 
There  is  no  God."  Ps.  15:1.    Such  a  man  makes 
himself  the  center  of  creation,  and  vainly  ex- 


Refutation  of  Erroneous  Theories        19 


pects  all  else  to  revolve  about  him.  Is  it  a 
wonder  that  he  sees  naught  but  disorder  and 
confusion? 

True  science  and  Revelation  cannot  be  at 
variance;  for,  true  science,  as  well  as  Revelation, 
is  based  on  the  truth.  In  applying  the  laws  of 
physical  science,  however,  as  a  commentary  on 
Divine  Revelation,  we  must  ever  suspect  our 
private  judgment.  If  we  cannot  discover  har- 
mony between  the  Revealed  Word  of  God  and 
its  commentary, — visible  creation, — we  may  be 
sure  that  we  have  blundered  in  reading  the  one, 
or  the  other,  or  perhaps  in  the  reading  of  both. 
The  two,  if  rightly  interpreted,  must  agree.  And 
when  we  discover  that  they  seemingly  do  not 
agree,  we  must  prefer  Revelation  as  interpreted 
by  the  living  and  infallible  teaching  body  of 
God's  Church.  If,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  this 
divinely  instituted  authority  has  not  declared 
the  sense  of  some  text  which  seems  to  contradict 
the  results  of  scientific  research,  we  must  sus- 
pend our  judgment  till  more  light  be  revealed 
by  the  Author  of  both.  For,  as  Mr.  Balfour*  so 
well  remarks:  "The  contemplation  of  the  va- 
rious works  of  God  in  creation  should  be  made 
subservient  to  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom 
of  grace;  they  should  be  studied  in  the  light  of 
God's  Revealed  Word,  and  thus  be  made  to 
promote  His  glory  and  our  everlasting  happi- 
ness." 


•  "Botany  and  Religion."— p.  26. 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


mean,  but  it  is  uneu  primary  end 

some  heavenjy    ru^.    ^J's  >s  th    P  ^  ^^^^^  ^^ 

of  all  created  things.    -^vlA  .  ., 

this  \vorld  should  elevate  our  minds  ;™m  Jhe 
to  te  to  the  Inf.nite.-from  time  to  etermj^,- 
frnm  the  creature  to  the  Creator.    Th  s  is  Uieir 
Immediate  end  as  manifested  by  right  reason 
Thv  Revelation.     Both  our  unaided  reason 
::tS  a^thl  Sealed  Word  of  God  tea^^^ 
thnt  man  can  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  an  All 
S"nd  omnipotent  Creator  solely  from  the 
contemplation  of  the  visible  universe      For  the 
invisible  things  of  God,  from  the  creation  of  he 
worid  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
ihincs  that  are  made."— Rom.  1 :1». 

Among  the  many  branches  of  science,  which 
furnish  us  with  irrefutable  arguments  in  favor 
of  the  Theist  view  of  creation,  I  ^>»l>niit  my- 
self chiefly  to  the  two  most  fascinating  of  the 
natural  sciences,-astronomy  and  botany. 

Perhaps  no  department  of  knowledge,  bar- 
ring Revelation,  furnishes  clearer  and  more  cer- 
tain proofs  for  the  existence  of  an  AU-wise  and 
Omnipotent  Creator  than  the  science  of  as- 
tronomy : 

"For  the  bright  firmament 

Shoots  forth  no  flame 

So  silent,  but  is  eloquent 

In  speaking  the  Creator's  name. 


I'LATK   1." Mai'  <>i    ""   "    ^'"*- — ''"'-  ^<»»'»"    l'<»i.K. 


Refutation  of  Erroneous  Theories         21 


1.  The  Agnostic  Theory 


That  the  universe  really  exists, — that  there 
are  such  things  as  stars  and  planets, — that  the 
earth  is  something  which  has  an  actual  exis- 
tence,— but  few  men  will  dare  to  gainsay.  That 
there  is  something,  moreover,  observable  in  the 
universe  which  may  be  rightly  termed  order,  or 
hannony,  is  also  a  fact,  which  but  a  very  few 
individuals, — contrary  to  their  better  judg- 
ment,— venture  to  deny. 

Therefore,  we  are  justified  in  asking: 
Whence  this  visible  universe?  Is  the  order 
which  we  observe  in  it  the  result  of  chance,  or 
is  it  the  work  of  an  intelligent  Being?  Was  the 
world  really  created,  or  has  it  come  into  being 
of  itself?  Is  the  series  of  causes  and  effects, 
which  we  everywhere  behold,  infinite,  or  is 
there  a  Primary  Self-existing  Cause,  from  whom 
all  things  have  their  being? 

Sad,  indeed,  would  be  man's  lot  here  on 
earth,  were  he  fated  to  grope  about  in  the  dark 
throughout  his  entire  life,  without  even  the  hope 
of  ever  arriving  at  an  answer  to  the  all-impor- 
tant questions:  "Whence?"  "Whither?"  and 
"Why?"  Such  is  the  unenviable  view  the  Agnos- 
tic takes  of  the  world,  and  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  first  Napoleon,  once,  on  a  beautiful 
starry  evening,  interrupted  a  number  of  savants, 
who  believed  that  they  had  relegated  the  Creator 


22 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


to  the  domain  of  imagination,  with  the  query: 
"But,  gentlemen,  who  made  the  stars?"  Tyndal, 
a  fair  representative  of  the  Agnostic  school,  says 
in  one  of  his  works:  "We  do  not  know  who 
made  them." 

The  Agnostic  claims  to  know,  for  a  certainty, 
that  he  cannot  solve  the  problem  of  this  world's 
origin.  He  pleads  ignorance,  also,  in  regard  to 
his  own  origin  and  destiny.  He  glories  in  the 
title  of  an  ignoramus,— but,  of  course,  only  in 
regard  to  the  origin  of  the  world, — the  existence 
of  God,— the  immortality  of  the  soul, — Divine 
Revelation,  and  kindred  questions. 

It  has  always  been  a  mystery  to  mc  how 
Agnostics, — men  who  commonly  pretend  to 
know  so  much  about  philosophy  and  science, — 
can  nevertheless  profess  ignorance  in  regard  to 
such  a  simple  and  patent  truth  as  creation.  Their 
manner  of  acting  and  speaking  on  things  know- 
able  and  unknowable  leads  one  to  define  Agnos- 
tics as  men  who  say  they  know  nothing,  and 
think  they  know  everything. 

How  easy  it  is  for  the  adherents  of  agnos- 
ticism to  close  their  eyes  to  the  truth,  and  to 
profess  ignorance,  when  certitude  is  readily  ob- 
tainable, may  be  seen  from  the  testimony  of 
Charles  Darwin,  an  acknowledged  Agnostic: 
"Another  source  of  conviction  for  the  existence 
of  God  connected  with  reason  rather  than  with 
feelings  follows  from  the  extreme  dilTiculty,  or 
rather  impossibility,  of  conceiving  this  immense 


Refutation  of  Erroneous  Theories        23 


and  wonderful  universe,  including  man,  with 
his  capacity  of  looking  far  forwards  and  far  into 
futurity,  as  the  result  of  blind  chance  or  neces- 
sity. When  thus  reflecting,  I  feel  impelled  to 
look  to  a  First  Cause  having  an  intelligent  mind 
in  some  degree  analogous  to  that  of  man." 

The  following  incident  well  illustrates  the 
disastrous  moral  effect  of  this  baneful  doctrine. 

We  are  told  that  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,*  was 
one  morning  seated  in  a  Washington  city  hotel, 
looking  out  of  the  great  window,  when  a  United 
States  Senator,  coming  in,  said: 

"Mr.  Ingersoll,  I  saw  a  sad  thing  a  moment 
ago.  While  a  man  was  struggling  across  the 
crowded  street  on  crutches,  I  saw  another  man 
strike  the  crutches  away  from  him." 

Ingersoll  arose,  with  fingers  twitching  and 
eyes  flashing,  and  said : 

"I  should  like  to  see  the  man;  I  would  punish 

him!" 

The   Senator   put  his  hand   on   Ingersoll's 

shoulder  and  said: 

"That  is  what  you  have  been  trying  to  do  for 
years;  striking  away  the  crutches  of  people,  the 
support  of  people  in  sorrow,  the  support  of  peo- 
ple in  temptation." 

•Cf.  "The  Catholic  Fortnightly  Review."— XIX,  10,  311. 


MM 


■H 


-vm 


/ 


24  Our  Palace  Wonderful 

2.  The  Materialistic  Theory 

The  Materialist  docs  not  fancy  being  termed 
an  "ignoramus";  hence,  though  shallow  it  be 
he  nevertheless  advances  a  theory  on  the  origin 
and  destiny  of  the  world     The  adheren  s  of 
Materialism  contend  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  creation  in  the  Christian  sense.  The  universe 
with  everything  it  contains,  according  to  their 
teaching,  is  one  immense  conglomeration  of  eter- 
nal and  uncreated  matter.    They  mam  am  that 
all  matter  is  continually  and  necessarily  enter- 
ing upon  new  combinations,  and  this  of  itsell, 
and  independently  of  any  Creator  or  Ruler  en- 
dowed with  intelligence  and  free  will.    In  fact, 
the  materialist  acknowledges  nothing,— either 
in  himself,  or  in  any  other  being,— superior  to 
the  dust  trampled  under  foot.    He  would  have 
us  believe  that  minerals,  plants,  and  animals 
have  all  developed  from  one  and  the  same  life- 
less matter.    He  looks  upon  man  as  in  nothing 
superior  to  the  trunk  of  n  dead  and  rotten  tree- 
as  a  mere  mass  of  brute  matter. 

According  to  this  crude  theory,  a  person 
weighing,  for  instance,  l.>4  pounds,  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  a  combination  of  101  pounds 
of  oxygen,  21  pounds  of  hydrogen,  21  pounds  of 
carbon,  3  pounds  of  nitrogen,  2  pounds  of  cal- 
cium, and  a  few  pounds  of  various  other  min- 
eral substances.    This  theory,  at  first  thought. 


Refutation  of  Erroneous  Theories 


25 


certainly  does  seem  somewhat  too  "gaseous"  to 

be  solid  doctrine.  . 

After  a  brief  existence  and  so-called  death, 
the  materialist  expects  his  remnants  to  pass  into 
som"  other  form  of  eternal  and  indestructible 

"^According  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Newell  Dwight 
Hillis  there  Ire  in  New  York  City  alone  aboiU 
12,000  children  taught  every  Sunday  afternoon 
hat  there  is  no  God.  no  Chris  .  no  Revelation, 
etc    The  author  of  the  text-book  used  is  Chipm. 
Here  are  some  of  the  questions  contained  in  the 
catechism  used  at  these  Sunday  Schools: 
Question:    "What  is  God? 
Answer:    "God  is  a  word  used  to  designate 
an   imaginary  being  which  people  have 
themselves  devised." 
•How  did  man  originate?" 
'Just  as  did  all  animals,  by  evolution  from 

lower  kinds."  ^.    .  ,.     ., 

"Has  man  an  immortal  soul  as  Christianity 

•Man  has  no  soul;  it  is  only  an  imagination. 

•Is  it  true  that  God  has  ever  been  revealed? 

'As  there  is  no  God,  he  could  not  reveal  him- 
self." 

•What  is  Heaven?" 

•Heaven  is  an  imaginary  place,  which 
churches  have  devised  as  a  charm  to  en- 
tice their  believers."^^ 

••Who  is  Jesus  Christ?" 


«(i 


«' 


(«i 


«»i 


•« 


•«■' 


Ml 


n 


i»» 


26 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


**There  is  no  God,  and,  therefore,  there  can 

be  no  Son  of  God." 
'*Is  Christianity  desirable  / 

is  harmful,  Decause  ii  >  after 

.     1         n«  ii«  teachings  of  buss  aiici 

cripples.     By  Us  ;^«"'    »,       Christianity 

fste  ';  a^^rob  ScK  the  progress  of 
man'kin'^   Lrefore  it  -the  duty  of  every 
citizen  to  help  wipe  out  Chnstiamty 
"What  is  our  duty  when  we  have  learnea 

^fshoulTtS^is  knowledge  to  others." 
::?^erirn?o2"nnerefore.weowe 

A  Station  S'luch  blasphemous  and  mate- 

rialttic  doctrines  is  therefore  ti-ey  and  needs 

i«r^r     Tt  i«i  well  for  us  all,  from  lime  lo 

Z7tKy^'c^^^io^^^^  essential  and  fundamen- 

tauiS^  of  religion,  which  is  one  of  the  aims 

^'  ?KlUl^^  school  of  philosophy,  then 
concdveVman  as  a  "heing  that  has  its  origin  and 

nro^fLTvogtsays:    "Man  is  what  he  eat^^^^ 

"der  Mensch  ist  was  er  isst."  By  ^^^'^^2^^^;, 
sters,  one  would,  therefore,  hecome  a  lobste^^^ 
Yes,  by  accepting  the  materialistic  view  of  the 
woHd  one  would  go  in  the  same  direction  in- 
tellectually, as  docs  the  lobster  locally.— back- 
wards. 


Refutation  of  Erroneous  Theories         27 


Another  says:  "A  man  weighing  150  pounds 
is  a  conglomeration  of  the  same  substances  that 
are  to  be  found  in  1,200  hens'  eggs;  hence,"  he 
concludes,  "man  is  this  and  nothing  more." 

Still  another*  compares  man  with  a  cart, 
laden  with  manure,  and  having  a  lantern  dan- 
gling from  one  of  its  axles. — Is  it  surprising  that 
such  men  defend  suicide  as  allowed? 

The  melancholy  and  illogical  explanation  of 
the  world's  origin  and  destiny,  advanced  by 
materialists,  is  so  contrary  to  common  sense 
that  it  does  not  deserve  more  than  a  passing 
notice.  A  lengthy  and  serious  refutation  of  such 
absurd  theories  would  be  quite  superfluous.  Let 
it  suffice  to  say  that  all  matter  is  changeable; 
what  is  eternal  and  self-existing,  however,  can- 
not be  subject  to  any  change;  for  that  which  is 
eternal  and  self-existing  is  infinitely  perfect. 
Hence  the  existence  of  an  "eternal,  self-existing 
matter"  is  as  repugnant  to  reason  as  the  exis- 
tence of  a  round  square.  Besides,  as  every  Chris- 
tian child  knows,  man  is  endowed  with  intellect 
and  free  will  and  possesses  an  immortal  soul. 
These  faculties  raise  man  far  above  every  possi- 
ble form  of  mere  matter  and  the  various  kinds 
of  irrational  animals.  "Man  advances,  the  brute 
does  not;"  let  materialists  explain  why  this  is, 
and  not  ignobly  pretend  that  the  fact  is  not 
substantiated. 

There  is  an  essential  difference  between  man 

*  Schopenhauer. 


28 


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Refutation  of  Erroneous  Theories         29 


and  brute.  Man  possesses  something  more  and 
something  nobler  than  brute  matter;  hence,  ma- 
teriaHsts  shall  never  succeed  in  convincing  a 
logical  thinker.  Their  theory  is  exceedingly  false 
and  shallow. 

Nostrae  supeniam  p:eiitis  orijrinem 
Fastidit  excors;  dissociabilem, 
Umbras  inanes  rnente  eaptans, 
Stirpem  hominum  peciidumqne  niiscet. 

-Leo  XIII. 

Man's  birth,  as  writ  upon  the  Sacred  Scroll, 

They  loathe  and  spurn;  and  phantom  shadows  chase; 
From  one  vile  jrei-m,  abhorrent  thin^  they  trace: 

The  beast's  foul  carcass  and  the  human  soul. 

(Trans,  by  T,  Campbell,  S.  J.) 

The  celebrated  astronomer,  Athanasius  Kir- 
cher,  had  one  of  these  materialists  among  liis 
many  friends.  In  vain  did  Kircher  point  to  the 
formal  order  of  the  universe  in  his  endeavor  to 
convert  the  unbeliever.  The  materialist  entered 
the  great  astronomer's  studio  one  day,  and  saw 
a  beautiful  globe  of  the  earth  standing  on  a 
table.  After  admiring  its  scientific  construction 
for  some  time,  he  asked  Kircher  where  he  had 
secured  that  fine  globe,  and  who  had  made  it? 

"Why,"  replied  Kircher,  "that  globe,  which 
you  see  there,  came  into  existence  of  and  by 
itself.  It  was  not  made  by  any  one.  Of  its  own 
intrinsic  power,  and  independently  of  any  ex- 
terior cause,  it  began  to  be." 


"Do  you  take  me  for  a  fool?"  said  the  mate- 
rialist. "How  could  that  be?  Surely,  everything 
that  exists  must  have  a  sufficient  cause  for  its 

pxisteiice . 

"Now,  look  here,  my  friend,"  retorted  Kir- 
cher, "you  deem  it  impossible  for  that  little  globe 
to  begin  to  exist  of  and  by  itself,  and  yet  mam- 
tain  that  its  original,— the  earth  which  we  m- 
habit,— has  its  existence  of  and  by  itself !  How 
often  have  you  not  been  guilty  of  a  far  greater 
folly,  in  asserting  that  the  earth,— a  globe  in- 
comparably larger  and  more  wonderful  than 
this  little  sphere  here,— has  noJMaker!  That  it 
came  into  existence  by  chance !" 

The  materialist  was  silenced.  Buried  in 
thought,  he  returned  home  and  became  a  firm 
believer  in  the  existence  of  a  Creator. 

3.  The  Pantheistic  Theory 
Pantheists  err  by  going  too  far  in  the  con- 
trar>^  direction.    The  materialist  denies  the  ex- 
istence of  the  human  soul  and  its  Creator.    He 
boldly  asserts  that  all  creatures  are  forms  of 
brute  matter;  whilst  the  pantheist  contends  that 
all  creatures  are  forms,  or  modes,  or  determina- 
tions of  the  deity.     Pantheists,— at  least  that 
class  which  constitute  the  vast  majority  of  this 
philosophic  school,— readily  admit  an  Infinite 
Being    upon    which    everything    depends    for 
its  preservation;  they  obstinately  refuse,  how- 
ever, to  admit  that  man  and  other  animals  are 


30 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Refutation  of  Erroneous  Theories        31 


beings  really  distinct  from  this  First  Cause.  The 
Pantheistic  theory  deifies  man, — makes  him 
either  an  emanation  or  a  form  of  the  Deity;  in 
fact,  it  deifies  every  living  creature, — the  mos- 
quito and  the  eagle,  the  ant  and  the  crocodile, 
the  elephant  and  the  whale,  the  hare  and  the 
lion,  the  ape  and  man,  are  substantially  one  and 
the  same  God.  According  to  this  philosophic 
system  man,  as  well  as  brute,  is  entirely  devoid 
of  individuality,  and,  consequently,  also  of 
moral  responsibility  for  his  actions.  The  Deity 
is  the  one  responsible  agent  in  the  universe. — 
This  philosophic  system  is  a  product  of  the  lively 
imagination  of  the  Oriental. 

Pantheism  contains  many  features  which 
make  it  attractive,  and  even  plausible  to  some 
minds;  for  this  reason  it  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
dangerous  of  the  many  false  systems  of  phi- 
losophy. The  Pantheistic  conception  of  the  uni- 
verse finds  especial  favor  with  the  vain  and 
proud.  Man,  even  before  "that  sin,  which 
brought  desolation  into  the  world,"  aspired  to 
be  like  to  God.  Hence,  it  must  not  surprise  us  to 
find  this  same  tendency  in  the  man  of  today,  for 
it  is  a  weakness  of  our  corrupt  and  fallen  nature. 

If  we  are  to  accept  the  works  of  eminent 
pantheists  like  Spinoza,  Pythagoras,  Scotus  Erig- 
ena,  Avicenna,  Fichte,  Giordano  Bruno,  Schell- 
ing  and  Hegel  as  authoritative  on  this  subject, 
it  is  easy  to  refute  the  vagaries  of  the  pantheistic 
world-view.    Pantheism  tries  to  build  without  a 


foundation.     It  professes  belief  in  a  Supreme 
Being,  and  in  the  same  breath  maintains  that 
there  is   no   essential  difference  between  this 
Supreme  Being  and  things  outside  of  Him.    It 
thus  labors  under  an  intrinsic  contradiction,  and 
is  against  sound  reason.    Pantheism  is  a  veri- 
table  hodgepodge  of  confused  and  erroneous 
ideas.    The  pantheistic  conception  of  God  and 
the  world  is,  likewise,  contrary  to  Divine  Reve- 
lation.   It  maintains  that  God,— "the  immanent 
cause  of  all  things,"— is  enslaved  to  the  laws  of 
nature.    God  is  not,  according  to  pantheists,  the 
absolute   and  Supreme  Creator  and  Ruler  of 
heaven  and  earth.    In  thus  denying  that  God  is 
endowed  with  sovereign  power  and  authority. 
Pantheism  creates  an  impassable  chasm  between 
the  creature  and  the  Creator,  and  robs  the  Al- 
mighty of  every  right  and  tiUe  to  obedience  and 
adoration  on  the  part  of  His  rational  creatures. 
It  illogically  and  sacrilegiously  reduces  God  to 
the  stuff  of  which  the  world  consists,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  raises  man  to  the  throne  destined 
solely  for  the  Almighty.    Pantheism,  therefore, 
implies  Atheism. 

None  but  phantasts  and  sentimentalists  can 
be  induced  to  admit  the  fallacies  of  Pantheism. 
Such  fall  an  easy  prey  to  its  false  and  alluring 
tenets.  Is  it  not  the  height  of  folly,  moreover, 
to  say  that  the  rat  is  substantially  the  same  being 
as  the  terrier  that  catches  it,  or  that  the  driver 
is  the  very  same  being  as  his  balky  mule,  or 


32 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


again,  that  the  "the  blatant  unbeliever  and  the 
Almighty, — whose  existence  he  denies, — are  both 
one  and  the  same  person?"  Besides  "everywhere 
throughout  nature's  vast  domain,  wt  seem  to  see 
a  striving  after  individuality."*  This  funda- 
mental principle  strikes  at  the  very  root  of 
Pantheism. 


•  "Right  and  Wrong."— Lilly,  p.  108. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  MINERAL  KINGDOM  POSTULATES  A  CREATOR 


1.  Proofs  Furnished  by  Science  and  Revelation 

I  SHALL  purposely  omit  the  various  other 
hypotheses  and  philosophic  theories  which 
fruitlessly  attempt  to  explain  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  universe,  and  shall  now  pass  on  to 
the  Theist,  or  Christian,  view. 

This  view  of  the  universe  is  based  on  the 
teachings  of  sound  reason  and  Divine  Revela- 
tion. These  two  beacon-lights  have  been  given 
man  in  order  to  illumine  his  path  throughout 
life,  and  to  safely  conduct  him  to  the  blessed 
goal  for  which  he  was  created.  Therefore, 
according  to  the  teachings  of  sound  reason,  un- 
der the  guidance  of  Revelation,  we  must  arrive 
at  the  only  true  conception  of  the  visible  crea- 
tion, which,  as  I  hope  to  prove,  is  the  Theist 
view.  What  then  is  the  Theist  conception  of 
the  world?  What  explanation  does  science,  in 
particular  astronomical  science,  and  Revelation 
give  us  concerning  the  origin  of  the  visible  uni- 
verse? 

Living  worlds  to  view  be  brought 
In  the  boundless  realms  of  thought; 
High  and  infinite  desires, 
Flaming  like  those  upper  fires! 

33 


34 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Holy  Truth,  eternal  Rigkt— 
Let  them  break  upon  my  sight; 
Let  them  shme  serenely  still, 
And  with  light  my  being  fill. 

Thou  who  dwellest  there,  I  know, 
Dwellest  here  within  me,  too ! 
May  the  perfect  love  of  God 
Here,  as  there,  be  shed  abroad. 

Let  my  Soul  attuned  be 
To  the  heavenly  harmony. 
Which,  beyond  the  power  of  sound, 
Fills  the  universe  around. 

—William  Henry  Furness. 

According  to  many  modern  naturalists,  there 
probably  was  a  time  when  the  entire  universe 
was  in  a  chaotic  state,— was  a  mass  of  atoms 
floating  about  in  space  immeasurable.  Motion, 
external  to  these  atoms,  and,  at  some  time  or 
other,  imparted  to  them  from  without,  set  that 
immense  mass  of  matter  revolving.  One  by  one 
the  stars  and  planets,  thereupon,  took  form  and 
shape;  some  retained  the  glowing  heat  which 
they  received  from  their  revolving  motion;  the 
sun,  for  example,  and  most  all  the  fixed  stars 
are  still  balls  of  gaseous,  or  molten  matter; 
others  again,  like  the  earth  and  moon,  in  the 
course  of  time,  cooled  off  and  lost  their  light  and 
heat.  Ages  upon  ages  passed  by  before  a  certain 
one  of  these  countless  orbs, — this  globe  of  ours, 
called  the  earth, — became  sufliciently  cool  to  ad- 


The   Sun. — Solar   Spots. 


1 


34 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Holy  Truth,  eternal  Right- 
Let  them  break  upon  my  sight; 
Let  them  shine  serenely  still, 
And  with  light  my  being  fill. 

Thou  who  dwellest  there,  I  know, 
Dwellest  here  within  me,  too ! 
May  the  perfect  love  of  God 
Hei-e,  as  there,  be  shed  abroad. 

Let  my  Soul  attuned  be 
To  the  heavenly  harmony. 
Which,  beyond  the  power  of  sound, 
Fills  the  universe  around. 

^William  Henry  Furness. 

According  to  many  modern  naturalists,  there 
probably  was  a  time  when  the  entire  universe 
was  in  a  chaotic  state,— was  a  mass  of  atoms 
lloaling  about  in  space  immeasurable.  Motion, 
external  to  these  atoms,  and,  at  some  time  or 
other,  imparted  to  them  from  without,  set  that 
immense  mass  of  matter  revolving.  One  by  one 
the  stars  and  planets,  thereupon,  took  form  and 
shape;  some  retained  the  glowing  heat  which 
they  received  from  their  revolving  motion;  the 
sun,  for  example,  and  most  all  the  fixed  stars 
are  still  balls  of  gaseous,  or  molten  matter; 
others  again,  like  the  earth  and  moon,  in  the 
course  of  time,  cooled  off  and  lost  their  light  and 
heat.  Ages  upon  ages  passed  by  before  a  certain 
one  of  these  countless  orbs, — this  globe  of  ours, 
called  the  earth, — became  sufficiently  cool  to  ad- 


The  Sux. — Solau   Spdts. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    35 

mit  of  plants  and  animals  on  its  surface.  The 
atoms,  which  constitute  the  earth,  had  even- 
tually become  a  compact  mass  of  mineral  matter 
around  its  outer  surface.  Through  years  and 
years  of  preparation  by  the  waters,  which 
rained  down  upon  the  earth,  its  rocky  crust 
was  finally  ground  into  soil,  and  garnered  in 
vast  layers  of  sand  and  mud  at  the  bottom  of 
the  seas,  lakes  and  rivers.  Mighty  eruptions  and 
earthquakes, — destined  to  shake  this  little  dwell- 
ing of  ours  to  its  very  foundation, — then  ele- 
vated the  rich  sediment  of  the  sea  here,  and 
sunk  the  barren  plains  of  waste  deserts  there, 
till  at  last  a  fit  abode  for  man  and  beast  was 
prepared. 

A  few  years  ago  I  visited  Yellowstone  Park, 
Wyoming.  The  steam-jets  and  geysers,  which 
are  so  numerous  in  that  region,  are  directly 
traceable  to  vast  fires  within  the  bowels  of  the 
earth.  One  district,  called  "Devil's  Half-Acre," 
has  hundreds  of  steam-jets  puffing  out  of  the 
ground.  In  the  geyser  basins  of  Yellowstone 
Park  it  is  not  necessary  to  build  a  fire  to  cook 
one's  meals.  The  hot  springs  and  steam-jets, 
heated  by  subterranean  fires,  furnish  heat  equal 
to  that  of  any  range. 

Other  manifestations  of  fire  in  the  center  of 
the  earth  are  eruptions  of  volcanoes  and  earth- 
quakes, such  as  the  eruption  of  Mt.  Pelee,  on 
Martinique,  that  snuffed  out  30,000  lives  some 
years  ago,  and  the  earthquake  in  Sicily  in  De- 


J 


36 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


cember,    1908,    that   summoned    about   200.000 
human  beings  from  lime  to  eternity. 

The  immense  ocean  of  fire  which  still  rages 
so  violently  in  the  center  of  the  earth  is  but  a 
small  residue  of  that  primeval  heat  with  which 
this  our  temporal  home  is  believed   to  have 

originally  glowed. 

Such,  in  a  few  rough  sketches,  is  the  history, 
given  us  by  scientists,  of  the  world's  origin. 
Created  by  the  Almighty,  the  atoms  of  matter 
which  constitute  the  visible  universe  were  orig- 
inally in  a  state  of  chaos;  at  the  Creator's  bid- 
ding, motion  was  given  that  immense  mass  of 
matter,  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were 
made.  How  the  celestial  phenomena  were  made, 
whether  according  to  the  meteoric  hypothesis, 
which  is  highly  probable,  or  according  to  the 
nebular  theory  does  not  concern  us  here.  To 
enter  upon  the  "How,"  would  lead  us  away  from 
our  subject. 

Let  us  now  pass  over  to  the  account  of  crea- 
tion, as  recorded  by  the  Inspired  Writer,  and 
see  whether  it  harmonizes  with  that  given  by 
scientists?  What  does  Divine  Revelation  say 
concerning  the  origin  of  the  world  and  of  its 
chief  inhabitant, — man?  We  read  in  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Bible:  "In  the  beginning  God 
created  heaven  and  earth." — Gen.  1:1. 

Here  we  have  a  clear  and  concise  answer  to 
the  pregnant  questions:  "Whence  is  creation?" 
"Whence  are  the  finite  and  lifeless  atoms  of 
which  the  universe  was  formed  ?" 


I 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    37 

That  the  material  universe  could  not  have 
made  itself  is  evident;  moreover,  that  it  could 
not  have  been  self-existent  from  eternity  needs 
no  proof;  hence  it  must  have  been  created.  Now, 
"to  create  means  to  produce  out  of  nothing." 
The  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  then,  asserts  that 
the  world  was  created.  "Heaven  and  earth,"  or 
the  entire  material  universe,  was  made  out  of 
nothing  by  the  Omnipotent  Creator.  The  initial 
act  of  creation  was  absolutely  necessary  in  order 
to  give  that  which  before  was  only  possible, 
actual  existence.  The  constituents  of  the  uni- 
verse once  created  and  set  in  motion,  the  mighty 
interchange  of  physical  forces  and  elements  be- 
gan. Every  particle  of  matter  rushes  towards 
or  around  some  center  of  attraction.  The  atoms 
rapidly  collect  in  masses  of  molten  matter,  and 
take  form  and  shape.  The  stars,  planets,  and 
solar  systems  gradually  evolve  from  chaos.  One 
of  the  many  celestial  bodies  that  eventually  se- 
cure individuality  and  take  spherical  form  is 
the  earth.  But  "the  earth  is,"  still,  "void  and 
empty."  v.  2. — "God,"  thereupon,  "made  a  firma- 
ment, and  divided  the  waters  that  were  under 
the  firmament  from  those  that  were  above  the 
firmament."  v.  7. — ^Floods  of  rain  pour  down 
from  the  overcharged  atmosphere  upon  its 
cooled  and  hardened  crust  of  mineral  sub- 
stances. The  waters  of  the  sea  and  of  erosive 
streams  roll,  crush,  and  grind  the  earth's  hard 
surface  into  gravel,  sand  and  soil.    When  this 


38 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    39 


little  globe  was  sufficiently  prepared,  the  vegeta- 
ble kingdom  appears  on  the  scene.  "And  God 
said:  Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the  green  herb, 
and  such  as  may  seed."  v.  11.— Vegetation  bursts 
forth  with  great  exuberance,  assimilates  what- 
ever it  finds  congenial,  and  gains  an  easy  victory 
over  the  material  kingdom. 

Our  Palace  Wonderful  gradually  assumes 
form  and  symmetry.  Everywhere  this  home  of 
ours  then  becomes  adorned  with  vegetation. 
Plants,  shrubs,  flowers  and  trees  fringe  the  riv- 
ers, lakes,  seas  and  oceans,  manifesting  their 
superiority  over  the  mineral  kingdom. 

The  vegetable  kingdom,  however,  readily 
surrenders  its  scepter  at  the  bidding  of  the  Al- 
mighty to  a  still  higher  class  of  creatures,  who 
take  possession  of  the  air,  sea  and  land.  The 
new-comers  thrive  on  the  food  that  had  been 
provided.  They  enliven  the  earth,  and  dominate 
over  its  oceans  and  continents:  "And  God  said : 
Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the  living  creature  in 
its  kind,  cattle  and  creeping  things,  and  beasts 
of  the  earth  according  to  their  kind." — Gen. 
1:24.  But  these,  too,  are  destined  to  serve  a 
higher  type  of  creature. 

After  his  home  is  sufficiently  prepared  by 
the  elements,  adorned  with  plants,  and  enlivened 
by  birds,  fishes,  and  animals,  man  goes  forth 
from  the  hand  of  the  Creator  to  "rule  over  the 
fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and 
all  living  creatures  that  move  upon  the  earth." — 


Gen.  1 :26.    "And  God  made  man  according  to 
His  own  image." — Gen.  1:27. 

It  is  irrelevant  to  our  theme  whether  the  In- 
spired Writer  here  intends  to  give  a  scientific 
and  chronological  description  of  the  various 
events  and  details  narrated  according  to  actual 
sequence  as  they  occurred  in  nature  or  not. 
What  we  maintain  is,  that,  according  to  the  ac- 
count in  Genesis,  the  visible  and  material  world 
originated  by  creation. 

The  "Six  Days,"  moreover,  of  the  Hexaem- 
eron  cannot  be  said  to  contradict  the  certain  data 
of  geology  and  palaeontology;  for  it  is  not  clear 
what  is  signified  by  the  term  "Six  Days."  If  the 
words  in  the  following  verses  17  and  18  be  in- 
terpreted in  their  literal  sense  it  is  plain  that 
"Day"  in  Genesis  does  not  signify  a  period  of 
twenty-four  hours;  for  there  we  read  that  only 
"on  the  fourth  day,"  "God  set  two  great  lights  in 
the  firmament  of  heaven  to  shine  upon  the  earth, 
and  to  rule  the  day  and  night,  and  to  divide  the 
light  and  darkness" — vs.  17  and  18. 

A  number  of  exegetes  of  eminent  authority 
believe  that  the  history  of  the  creation,  as  here 
recorded  in  Genesis,  was  revealed  in  visions;  ac- 
cording to  this  interpretation,  then,  "the  Biblical 
Hexaemeron  may  be  explained  in  the  way  in 
which  other  Biblical  visions  are  interpreted." 
No  matter  how  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  be 
taken,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  "Six  Days"  must 
be  days  of  twenty-four  hours.  "Their  real  length 
of  time  is  not  determined  by  Scripture." 


40 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  the  Book 
of  Genesis  is  replete  with  difficulties,  and,  so 
long  as  the  Church  has  not  given  an  authorita- 
tive interpretation,  the  student  of  Scripture  is 
more  or  less  free  to  get  what  meaning  he  can 
therefrom.  But  no  one  can  logically  deny  that 
its  first  and  second  chapter  clearly  and  indubit- 
ably teach  the  origin  of  the  universe  by  crea- 
tion. They,  likewise,  teach  that  plants,  animals 
and  men  owe  their  existence  to  separate  and 
special  creative  acts. 

Such,  then,  as  we  learn  from  true  science  and 
the  Revealed  Word  of  God  is  the  origin  of  man 
and  his  temporal  home.  Both  these  sources  of 
knowledge  teach  us  that  the  entire  material  uni- 
verse and  every  animate  as  well  as  inanimate 
substance  that  it  contains,  was  at  some  time  or 
another  called  into  being  by  an  Independent 
Primary  Cause.  "The  Lord  spoke,  and  they  were 
made;  He  commanded,  and  they  were  created." 
— Ps.  32:9.  "Of  Him,  and  by  Him,  and  in  Him 
are  all  things." — Rom.  11 :36. 

2.  Proofs  Taken  from  the  Sidereal  World 

And  if  we  turn  our  attention  from  the  planet 
we  inhabit,  and  cast  a  glance  at  the  other 
planets  and  stars  in  their  relation  to  the  earth, 
we  are  compelled  by  right  reason,  no  less  than 
by  Revelation,  to  admit  a  Creator,  to  whom, 
also,  all  the  other  spheres  owe  their  existence. 
The  harmony,  too,  we  behold  among  the  celes- 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    41 


tial  bodies,  clearly  proves  that  they  must  needs 
be  under  the  dominion  of  an  All-wise  and 
Supreme  Ruler. 

Were  we  to  enter  a  house  and  find  every- 
thing in  the  best  of  order  we  certainly  would 
believe  it  to  be  under  the  management  of  some 
person.  Now,  what  sane  and  intelligent  man  can 
contemplate  this  grand  and  superb  temple  of 
the  universe,  which  constitutes  our  temporal 
home,  vdthout  admitting  a  Creator,  who  has  de- 
signed and  arranged  it? 

Or,  again,  let  us  suppose  that  an  inhabitant 
of  some  uncivilized  island  were  suddenly  to 
chance  upon  a  beautiful  watch.  Whilst  out 
hunting,  he  finds  to  his  great  surprise,  the  won- 
derful work  of  art  lying  in  some  out  of  the  way 
place.  Now,  would  that  unsophisticated  child 
of  the  forest  primeval  perhaps  think  that  the 
watch  had  grown  out  of  the  ground?  Or  that 
it  may  have  come  into  existence  by  chance? 
Certainly  not!  Though  he  had  never  beheld  any- 
thing of  the  kind  before,  after  a  little  reflection 
he  would  rightly  conclude  that  the  timepiece 
must  be  the  work  of  some  intelligent  being.  He 
would  instinctively  admire  its  beauty  and  work- 
manship, and  from  its  accuracy  of  movement, 
and  harmony  of  action,  arrive  at  the  conviction 
that  such  an  accurate  and  harmonious  move- 
ment could  not  be  the  result  of  chance,  but  that 
it  must  needs  be  the  work  of  some  one  more 
skillful  than  himself. 


42 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Now,  no  less  wonder  and  admiration  is  ex- 
cited in  the  mind  of  every  intelligent  man  who 
contemplates  the  exquisite  beauty  of  the  starry 
firmament,  and  reflects  on  the  accurate  and  har- 
monious movement  of  the  solar  systems.  The 
order  and  design  which  they  reveal  force  every 
unbiased  and  intelligent  mind  to  admit  the  ex- 
istence of  a  Superior  Being,— a  Wise  Designer, 
who  called  those  celestial  spheres  into  being  and 
directs  their  every  movement. 

I  say  a  Wise  Designer.  For  wisdom  is  de- 
fined as  the  adaptation  of  means  to  the  end, 
whilst  design  is  defined  as  formal  or  intended 
order.  Now,  who  can  view  the  stupendous  work 
of  the  universe  without  acknowledging  that  it 
must  needs  have  been  made,  and  that  by  an  in- 
finitely more  perfect  Being  than  ourselves?  Who 
can  behold  it  in  its  entirety,  without  being  filled 
with  awe  and  admiration  at  its  order  and  de- 
sign? Like  a  colossal  machine  in  motion,  the 
countless  stars,  planets  and  other  heavenly 
phenomena  move  with  the  precision  and  reg- 
ularity of  the  most  skillfully  made  watch.  Ask 
the  astronomer,  and  he  will  tell  you  that  the  in- 
tricate harmony  which  is  everj^where  discerni- 
ble among  the  celestial  bodies, — and  this  in 
spite  of  their  almost  incomprehensible  number, 
volume,  velocity  and  distance, — clearly  proves 
an  intended  order.  There  is  always  manifest 
the  hand  of  a  Wise  Designer,  and  the  sway  of 
a  Supreme  Ruler. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    43 


The  visible  universe  appears  at  its  best  on  a 
bright  and  starry  night.  When  thus  contem- 
plating the  firmament  by  night,  we  at  once  nat- 
urally speculate  on  the  number  of  stars  we  there 
behold.  Though  the  number  of  stars  is  simply 
beyond  imagination,  yet  it  is  not  infinite.  Nor 
are  there  as  many  stars  discernible  to  the  naked 
eye  as  one  would,  at  first  sight,  think. 

On  a  clear  starlit  night  one  cannot  discern 
more  than  4,000  stars  from  any  one  place  in  the 
United  States  with  the  naked  eye.  With  the  aid 
of  an  ordinary  opera-glass  about  100,000  can  be 
seen.  A  telescope  with  a  lens  of  ordinary  size 
will  greatly  increase  this  number.  With  each 
increase  in  the  size  of  the  lens,  new  stars  are 
revealed,  where  before  nothing  save  interstellar 
space  was  discernible.  The  great  "Lick  Tele- 
scope, which  has  a  diameter  of  three  feet,  re- 
veals about  100,000,000  stars."*  Through  the 
Yerkes  Telescope,  which  has  a  forty-inch  lens  a 
much  larger  number  is  discernible. 

The  number  of  stars  in  the  universe  is,  un- 
doubtedly, much  larger  than  the  number  of 
visible  stars.  Professor  Newcomb,  in  one  of  his 
latest  works,  says:  "The  total  number  of  stars 
is  to  be  counted  by  hundreds  of  millions." 

Relatively,  therefore,  when  admiring  the 
firmament,  we  can  distinguish  but  a  very  small 
number  of  the  celestial  bodies  that  are  there 
scattered  about  in  profusion;  for,  about  "20,000 

•  "0«neral  Astronomy." — Younjr,  No.  790. 


44 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


stars  are  now  known  to  exist  for  every  one  we 
see  with  the  naked  eye."* 

Our  amazement  increases,  moreover,  when 
we  reflect  on  the  colossal  bulk  and  volume  of 
some  of  those  mighty  luminaries  that  adorn  the 
firmament.  He  who  closely  follows  the  course 
of  those  bright  constellations  will  tell  you  of 
celestial  orbs  in  comparison  with  whose 
size  our  little  globe  fades  away  into  msigniti- 

cance. 

There  are  comparatively  few  persons  who 
are  able  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  one  thousand 
square  miles.  Now,  the  earth  has  a  surface  area 
of  197,000,000  square  miles.  Were  we  to  set  out 
on  a  journey  around  the  world,  the  trip  after 
the  second  or  third  week  would  seem  intermina- 
ble. Yet,  we  know  that  there  is  scarcely  a  fixed 
star  within  the  range  of  the  smallest  telescope 
that  is  not  much  larger  than  the  earth. 

The  planet  we  inhabit  has  a  diameter  of 
8,000  miles;  the  planet  Uranus  measures  32,000 
miles  through  its  center;  whilst  Neptune  has  a 
diameter  of  35,000  miles,  and  Saturn  73,000;  in- 
cluding its  ring  system,  which  supposedly  con- 
sists of  clouds  of  tiny  satellites,  this  planet  has 
an  external  diameter  of  168,000  miles.  Jupiter, 
the  largest  of  the  planets,  is  1,300  times  the  size 
of  the  earth,  and  has  a  diameter  of  86,000  miles. 

•  "The  Pith  of  Astronomy," — Bayne,  p.  82. 

Note:  When  giving  the  size,  area,  volume,  distance,  or 
velocity  of  the  celestial  phenomena  and  planets  I  have  design- 
edly used  round  numbers,  in  order  to  help  the  memory  of  the 
reader. 


I' 
fi. 

,  us 


PI.\TK  11.— Thk;  Solar  Systkm. 

ORBITS    AND  COMI'AUATIVK    SI/ES   OF  tIk   IM.ANKTS   IN    THE    SOLAR    SYSTEM. 


l',        1        !■■.        "^ 


I        S 


K        S 


>:      -"i      1      >'      ' 


T 


THE     S  O  L  AIR     SYSTEM 


l»L\TK  II.— TiiK  Sdi.AR  Systkm. 

ORlllTS    AM.   COMPAUAllVK    SI/.KS   «.FTBK    l-IANKTS    IN    TlIK    SOI.AR    SYSTKM. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator   45 


But  even  the  largest  of  the  planets  is  little 
when  compared  with  the  sun,  or  any  one  of  the 

fixed  stars. 

The  great  luminary  which  the  Almighty 
called  forth  from  nothingness  to  preside  over 
the  day,  possesses  a  bulk  of  matter  318,000  times 
that  of  the  earth  and  moon  together;  its  diame- 
ter measures  850,000  miles.  We  can  best  gain 
an  idea  of  the  almost  incomprehensible  size  of 
that  immense  globe  of  fire  by  applying  a  familiar 
standard :  "If  we  imagine  our  little  globe  to  be 
within  the  sun  so  that  the  center  of  the  earth 
would  coincide  with  the  center  of  the  sun,  and 
the  moon  would  continue  on  its  path  about  our 
planet  as  at  present,  the  sun  would  not  only  in- 
clude the  lunar  orbit,  but  its  surface  would  ex- 
tend almost  as  far  again  beyond  it;  now,  if  we 
recall  to  mind  that  the  mean  distance  of  the 
moon  from  the  earth  is  240,000  miles,  what  vast 
proportions  does  not  the  sun  assume" !  The  sun's 
volume  is  over  one  million  times  that  of  the 
earth!  Were  the  sun  a  hollow  globe  1,300,000 
spheres  the  size  of  the  earth  could  be  thrown 

into  it. 

Again,  astronomers  tell  us  that  the  sun  is  rel- 
atively small  when  compared  with  the  majority 
of  the  fixed  stars. 

The  variable  Algol,  for  example,  in  the  con- 
stellation Perseus,  a  star  that  ranges  from  the 
second  to  the  forth  magnitude,  appears  to  our 
naked  eye  to  be  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  heav- 


46 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


enly  bodies;  yet  that  "little  twinkling  gem"  is 
almost  one  million  miles  in  diameter;  and  the 
dark  satellite  which  travels  around  it  at  a  dis- 
tance of  three  million  miles,  measures  800,000 
miles  through  its  center.  "Many  of  the  fixed 
stars  are  much  larger  than  the  sun,  and  more 
luminous." 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  great  diversity  of 
size  and  weight  among  the  heavenly  bodies,  they 
all  have  a  certain  and  fixed  size  and  weight. 
The  asteroids,  of  which  there  are  about  600 
known,  exist  in  great  number  between  the  orbits 
of  Mars  and  Jupiter,  and  all  travel  in  the  same 
direction.  The  smallest  of  the  asteroids,  which 
might  more  appropriately  be  termed  planetoids, 
are,  perhaps,  the  size  of  pebbles,  whilst  the  larg- 
est are  about  300  miles  in  diameter.  Yet  the 
smallest  one  of  the  celestial  phenomena,  as  well 
as  the  largest,  has  a  determined  size  and  weight. 
Yea,  this  may  be  said,  with  equal  truth,  of  the 
universe  itself. 

Now,  has  mere  chance  given  those  celestial 
bodies  their  size  and  quantity?  Or  have  their 
size  and  weight  been  determined,  perhaps,  by 
themselves?  Certainly  not  by  chance.  For  an 
effect  can  never  be  superior  to  its  cause.  But, 
one  might  say,  they  have  been  determined  by 
the  fixed  and  inherent  laws  of  the  forty  or  more 
elements  which  constitute  those  phenomena. 
True!  But,  whence,  I  pray,  are  these  physical 
laws?    Does  not  every  law  suppose  a  law-giver? 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator   47 


Or  whence  came  that  primordial  matter,  the  size 
and  weight  of  which  the  physical  laws  have 
determined? 

View  the  heavenly  bodies  as  we  will,  we  are 
compelled  by  right  reason,  no  less  than  by  Di- 
vine Revelation,  to  admit  a  First  Creative  Cause, 
that  called  them  all  into  being;  and  upon  this 
First  Creative  Cause  they  depend  for  their  exis- 
tence and  its  continuance.  Yes,  the  Almighty  it 
was,  "who  weighed  the  heavens  in  His  palm, 
who  has  poised  with  three  fingers  the  bulk  of 
the  earth";  Isaias  40:12.  He  has  "ordered  all 
things  in  measure,  and  number  and  weight." 
Wisdom  11,  21. 

Again,  no  right-thinking  man  can  contem- 
plate the  precise  and  intricate  motion  of  the 
planets  and  stars,  without  admitting  an  intelli- 
gent First  Cause  who  imparted  to  them  the  laws 
by  which  they  are  kept  in  their  proper  orbits 
and  relative  positions.  When  we  view  the  celes- 
tial bodies  and  their  mutual  relationship  our 
admiration  for  their  great  Designer's  power  and 
wisdom  must  necessarily  be  enhanced. 

No  material  body  in  the  universe  is  at  a  com- 
plete standstill.  All  bodies  attract  one  another 
in  the  ratio  of  their  quantities.  And  motion  in 
any  material  body  causes  motion, — although  in- 
finitely slight  perhaps, — in  all  the  others.  In 
spite,  however,  of  this  constant  and  universal  un- 
rest, there  is  a  total  absence  of  lawlessness. 

Our  earth  flies  through  space  on  its  course 


48 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


around  the  sun  at  the  rate  of  ISYo  miles  per 
second,  i.  e.,  *75  times  as  swiftly  as  a  cannon 
ball."*  "If  a  railroad  train  traveling  at  sixty 
miles  an  hour  were  to  start  out  on  the  earth's 
orbit  around  the  sun,  it  would  take  1,200  years 
for  it  to  complete  its  journey.  The  earth  makes 
this  same  distance  in  just  one  year."  We,  here  on 
the  earth,  at  the  present  moment  are  traveling 
at  the  tremendous  speed  of  "1,500,000  miles 
every  day."t  And  yet  the  earth  is  always  on 
time, — never  a  single  moment  too  early,  or  too 
late. 

The  planet  Mars  rushes  on  at  the  rate  of  15 
miles  per  second,  and  completes  its  orbit  around 
the  sun  at  a  mean  distance  of  141,000,000  miles 
from  it,  once  in  687  days.  The  axial  rotation  of 
this  planet  has  finally  been  settled  on  as  being 
24  hours,  37  minutes,  22.67  seconds. 

Mercury,  which  is  the  nearest  of  all  the 
planets  to  the  sun,  has  a  velocity  of  29  miles  per 
second. 

Jupiter,  the  largest  of  the  planets,  travels  at 
the  rate  of  8  miles  per  second,  completing  his 
solar  year  in  11  years,  10  months,  and  17  days. 

No  less  accurately  does  Saturn,  with  his 
eleven  moons,  pursue  his  course,  speeding  on- 
ward through  space  at  the  rate  of  six  miles  per 
second. 

And  if  we  leave  the  planetary  realm  for  that 

•  "Elements  of  Astronomy."— Young,  p.  4g. 
t  "Pith  of  Astronomy."— Bayne,  p.  25. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    49 


of  the  fixed  stars,  also,  here  shall  we  find  all  in 
motion.  The  name  "fixed"  star  is  a  misnomer. 
There  are  no  fixed  stars  in  the  strict  sense.  The 
so-called  fixed  stars  of  the  Dipper,  for  example, 
are  moving  earthward  at  about  19  miles  per 
second.  Their  arrival  in  this  region  of  the  uni- 
verse may  be  looked  for  in  about  500,000  years. 
The  vast  majority  of  stars  are  thought  to  be 
traveling  in  a  straight  line  at  an  average  speed 
of  20  miles  a  second.  The  fixed  star,  called  61 
Cygni,  which  can  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye, 
"travels  at  the  incomprehensible  speed  of  100 
miles  per  second." 

Comets,  too,  travel  at  great  speed.  The 
comet  of  the  year  1843,  which  is  expected  to  re- 
turn again  in  A.  D.  2219,  has  the  tremendous 
velocity  of  340  miles  per  second. 

Finally,  not  only  are  the  individual  stars, 
planets  and  other  celestial  bodies  moving 
through  space  at  an  enormous  speed,  but,  also, 
the  whole  solar  system  is  fleeing  onward  in  the 
direction  of  "Alpha  Lyrae"  "at  the  rate  of  121/2 
miles  per  second."* 

The  area,  too,  or  superficial  extent  of  some 
of  the  celestial  phenomena  is  beyond  the  com- 
prehension of  the  strongest  human  mind.  The 
comets,  for  example,  those  stray  visitors,  that 
come  from  the  stellar  realm  to  pay  their  homage 
to  the  great  monarch  of  our  solar  system,  seem 
small  to  the  naked  eye.    Yet  the  tails  of  these 

•  "Man's  Place  In  the  Universe."— Wallace,  p.  91. 


50 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    51 


mysterious  and  beautiful  apparitions  vary  from 
10,000,000  to  100,000,000  miles  in  length. 

How  elevating,  moreover,  and  yet  how 
crushing,  is  the  impression  of  space  received 
from  a  study  of  the  nebulae!  It  is  supposed 
that  there  are  about  150,000  nebulae  floating 
around  in  space.  About  10,000  of  them  are  lo- 
cated and  sketched.  Professor  Perrine  has  pho- 
tographed about  750  nebulae.  Some  years  ago  I 
viewed  the  nebula  of  Orion,  through  a  telescope 
in  Europe.  It  appears  to  be  the  size  of  a  human 
hand.  Those  best  able  to  know,  tell  us  that  "if 
the  distance  of  the  nebula  of  Orion  be  taken  to 
be  that  of  a  star  of  the  eighth  magnitude,  a  por- 
tion of  it  not  more  than  ten  seconds  in  diameter 
must  spread  over  an  area  exceeding  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  sun  two  trillion  times." 

"Many  celestial  phenomena,  which  have  the 
appearance  of  nebulae,  are  star-clusters,  and 
are  believed  to  form  solar  systems  no  less  grand, 
extensive,  and  harmonious  than  our  own  solar 
system."  Some  clusters  are  known  to  have  a 
thousand  or  more  stars.  That  of  Perseus  has 
about  2,000  stars;  the  cluster  "Omega  Centauri" 
shows  25,000  per  square  degree;  the  "Milky 
Way," — the  luminous  belt  that  encircles  the 
material  universe, — "is  made  up  almost  entirely 
of  stars  from  the  eighth  magnitude  down." 

"It  is  owing  solely  to  their  great  distance 
that  many  assemblages  of  stars  appear,  like  the 
Galaxy,  as  nebulae,  or  confused  clouds  of  lu- 


minous matter.  Could  we  from- any  one  of  those 
distant  worlds  see  this  solar  system  to  which 
our  earth  belongs,  it,  too,  would  undoubtedly 
have  the  appearance  of  a  nebula,  or  faint  patch 
of  misty  light"*  floating  about  in  space. 

But,  you  will  quite  naturally  ask,  if  the 
celestial  bodies  have  such  an  immense  size,  why 
is  it  that  they  appear  to  be  so  little,  mere  dots 
or  points  of  light?  If  their  velocity  is  so  exceed- 
ingly great,  why  do  they  always  appear  to  oc- 
cupy the  same  relative  positions?  This  is  due 
to  their  amazing  distances  from  us.  The  dis- 
tance which  separates  the  earth  from  the  other 
celestial  bodies  is  simply  appalling.  What  an 
overwhelming  idea  of  distance  does  not  capti- 
vate the  mind  that  strives  to  measure  the  pro- 
portions, according  to  which  the  universe  has 
been  established! 

Distance  is  defined  as  the  extent  of  a  straight 
line  between  two  points.  It  is  easy  to  represent 
to  ourselves  the  extent  of  a  straight  line,  or  the 
distance,  between  here  and  some  other  city  that 
ranks  with  our  own  in  importance.  It  is,  like- 
wise, easy  to  gain  a  clear  idea  of  the  distance, 
for  example,  to  San  Francisco,  or  to  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  which  are  about  7,000  miles  dis- 
tant. The  task  becomes  more  difficult,  however, 
if  we  try  and  conceive  the  distance  around  the 
earth,— 25,000  miles,— or  the  distance  to  the 
moon,— which  is  240,000  miles, — or,  again,  to  the 

•  "SeUct  Reading  Lessons." — p.  92. 


II 


52 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


sun —which  is  situated  93,000,000  miles  from 

here. 

In  order  to  gain  a  faint  idea  of  the  incompre- 
hensible  distances  which  lie  between  our  planet 
and  some  of  the  other  spheres  of  the  universe, 
let  us  enter  an  imaginary  express  train.  Travel- 
ing at  the  rate  of  the  Twentieth  Century  Limited, 
that  is  about  60  miles  an  hour,  it  would  take  us 
at  least  70  years  to  reach  our  nearest  neighbor 
among  the  planets,— Mars.  The  farthest  planet 
known  to  us  at  the  present  time  is  Neptune, 
which  would  be  reached  by  our  train  in  about 

6,000  years. 

"If  a  cannon-ball,"  says  Professor  Newcomb, 
"fired  from  our  planet  to  celebrate  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  in  the  year  1776,  had  con- 
tinued on  its  course  ever  since  that  remote  date, 
with  a  velocity  of  1,800  feet  per  second,  it  would 
not  yet  be  half  way  to  the  orbit  of  Neptune." 

The  mean  distance  of  the  earth  from  the  sun 
is  93,000,000  miles;  of  Mars,  141,000,000;  of  Jupi- 
ter, 483,0(K),000;  of  Saturn,  886,000,000;  and  of 
Neptune,  2,793,000,000  miles.  Astronomers  are 
looking  for  planets  beyond  Neptune,  and,  no 
doubt,  they  will  be  successful  in  their  search  for 
new  worlds. 

Beyond  the  orbit  of  Neptune,  the  farthest 
known  planet,  there  is,  all  around  the  solar  sys- 
tem, an  immense  ocean  of  space,  which  seems 
to  contain  naught  save  ether.  Outside  of  and 
beyond  this  uninhabited  etherial  ocean,  which 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    53 


encircles  our  solar  system,  lies  the  boundless 
realm  of  the  fixed  stars.  There  we  behold,  night 
after  night,  those  bright  little  twinkling  suns 
that  appear  to  ever  occupy  the  same  relative 
positions. 

What  amazing  distances  does  not  a  study  of 
tlie  fixed  stars  reveal!  "The  nearest  one  of  the 
fixed  stars  is  some  twenty-six  millions  of  mil- 
lions of  miles  from  the  sun."  "It  would  take  an 
express  train  about  73,000,000  years  to  reach  it." 

We  had  better  abandon  this  mode  of  travel, 
if  we  hope  to  reach  the  confines  of  space,  and 
speed  onward  solely  in  mind.  In  measuring  the 
distances  of  the  stars,  astronomers  are  wont  to 
use  the  lightyear  as  a  standard.  An  astronomical 
lightyear  signifies  the  distance  traversed  by  light 
in  one  year.  Though  light  travels  with  the  ra- 
pidity of  186,000  miles  per  second,  nevertheless 
it  requires  about  four  years  for  the  light  of  the 
nearest  star  to  reach  us.  The  light  of  the  farthest 
star,  whose  distance  is  known,  requires  at  least 
200  years  to  reach  our  eye. 

When  we  look  at  the  little  gem,  that  is  called 
the  Polestar,  we  behold  the  light  that  left  this 
star  forty-four  years  ago. 

The  Galaxy,  that  luminous  belt  of  stars 
which  Agnes  Mary  Gierke  beautifully  calls  "the 
hem  of  the  robe  of  the  Most  High,"  "has  a  dis- 
tance of  500  lightyears."  When  we  admire  the 
Galaxy,  therefore,  we  are  beholding  the  light 
that  left  it  before  the  discovery  of  America  by 
Columbus. 


54 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


What  is  still  more  incredible,  some  astrono- 
mers maintain  that  there  are  stars  which  have 
been  created  in  the  beginning  of  the  world 
whose  light  has  not  yet  reached  us;  and  this  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  in  less  than  one  second  of 
time,  yea,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  light  can 
make  the  tour  of  the  globe,— a  distance  of  25,000 

miles. 

One  can  obtain  a  fair  idea  of  the  great  dis- 
tance which  lies  between  us  and  the  stars  by 
remembering  that  if  the  entire  firmament,  with 
its  300,000,000  or  more  glowing  suns,  were  anni- 
hilated, we  would  perceive  no  material  change 
within  the  first  four  years.  Then,  the  bright 
star,  Sirius,  and  a  few  others,  whose  light  re- 
quires eight  years  to  reach  the  earth,  would  dis- 
appear from  view.  Subsequently,  one  after  the 
other  would  fade  from  our  sight  till  the  last 
non-existing  star  would  cease  to  be  seen. 

"It  seems  quite  certain  that  the  distance  of 
the  remotest  stars  in  the  stellar  system  must  be 
from  10,000  to  20,000  lightyears." 


The  Plankt  Satikx. 


What  is  still  more  incredible,  some  astrono- 
mers maintain  that  there  are  stars  which  have 
been  created  in  the  beginning  of  the  world 
whose  light  has  not  yet  reached  us;  and  this  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  in  less  than  one  second  of 
time,  yea,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  light  can 
make  the  tour  of  the  globe,— a  distance  of  25,000 

miles. 

One  can  obtain  a  fair  idea  of  the  great  dis- 
tance which  lies  between  us  and  the  stars  by 
remembering  that  if  the  entire  firmament,  with 
its  300,000,000  or  more  glowing  suns,  were  anni- 
hilated, we  would  perceive  no  material  change 
within  the  first  four  years.  Then,  the  bright 
star,  Sirius,  and  a  few  others,  whose  light  re- 
quires eight  years  to  reach  the  earth,  would  dis- 
appear from  view.  Subsequently,  one  after  the 
other  would  fade  from  our  sight  till  the  last 
non-existing  star  would  cease  to  be  seen. 

"It  seems  quite  certain  that  the  distance  of 
the  remotest  stars  in  the  stellar  system  must  be 
from  10,000  to  20,000  lightyears." 


TllK     I'l.ANKT     SaTI  HN. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    55 


3.  Proofs  Deduced  from  the  Mechanism,  Har- 
mony AND  General  Plan  of  the 
Visible  Universe 

"The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim." 

— Addison, 

Seemingly  lost  amid  the  almost  infinite  space 
occupied  by  the  visible  universe,  one  of  those 
millions  of  celestial  bodies  that  are  profusely 
scattered  about  in  space  inconceivable, — is  this 
little  planet  we  inhabit.  From  a  material  point 
of  view,  the  earth,  when  compared  with  the  rest 
of  creation,  is  a  mere  atom;  but  when  viewed 
from  a  higher  and  rational  plane,  it  is  the  most 
important  of  all  the  spheres. 

The  position  of  the  earth  in  the  solar  system 
to  which  it  belongs,  evidently  proves  that,  from 
the  very  beginning,  it  was  destined  to  be  the 
home  of  man.  According  to  some  scientists,  the 
sun  occupies  the  center  of  the  visible  universe. 
But  be  this  as  it  may,  we  know  for  a  certainty 
that  our  globe  retains  that  particular  orbit,  dis- 
tance from  the  great  oven  of  the  universe,  and 
axial  declination  which  are  required  to  produce 
the  four  seasons  of  the  year.  No  other  planet  is 
adapted  for  the  muscular  energy  and  tempera- 
ment of  man  and  brute.    "In  this  fact,  alone," 


56 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


says  Mr.  Main,  "we  have  a  beautiful  specimen  of 
design,  and  of  the  adaptation  of  the  globe,-to 
the  nature  and  constitution  of  its  inhabitants. 
And  yet,  we  receive  only  a  two-billionth  portion 
of  the  heat  and  light  given  out  by  the  sun.  No 
doubt,  we  all  are  content  with  this  small  amount 
of  heat,  and  everyone  is  quite  willing  that  the 
earth  continue  on  her  prescribed  orbit  at  a  dis- 
tance of  ninety  million  miles  from  that  unfaihng 

source  of  energy. 

The  moon  is  our  next  door  neighbor;  she  can 
be  called  such,  even  though  she  keep  herself  at 
a  distance  of  240,000  miles  from  us.  The  moon 
is  much  smaller  than  the  earth,  its  area  being 
about  equal  to  that  of  North  and  South  America. 
Our  satellite  is  nothing  but  a  dead  cinder.  It 
possesses  neither  light  nor  heat  of  its  own. 

Yet  the  moon  does  us  very  good  service.  The 
tides,  for  example,  which  purify  the  oceans  and 
prevent  them  from  becoming  stagnant,  are  due 
to  the  attraction  of  the  moon.  At  regular  inter- 
vals, too,  the  moon  illumines  our  planet  by  re- 
flecting the  sunhght,  which  falls  upon  it. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  moon  revolves  on 
its  axis  in  just  about  the  same  time  that  is  re- 
quired for  it  to  travel  around  the  earth,  it  neces- 
sarily presents  but  one  side  towards  us.  In 
spite  of  the  great  distance  of  the  moon  from  us, 
the  topography  of  the  side  which  is  constantly 
turned  towards  the  earth  is  almost  as  well 
known  as  the  topography  of  our  own  globe. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    57 


"Mr.  Schmitt,  alone,  has  observed  and  sketched 
over  30,000  crater  holes  on  the  moon." 

However,  notwithstanding  the  great  progress 
astronomical  discovery  has  made  along  these 
lines  it  takes  a  pretty  good  telescope  to  see  the 
"traditional  man  in  the  moon."  I  may  add,  too, 
that  it  requires  not  a  little  good  will  to  believe 
the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania,  who  claims 
to  have  seen  a  herd  of  cattle  a  few  years  ago 
grazing  in  a  meadow  on  the  moon.  There  are  no 
meadows  or  cattle  on  the  moon.  Owing  to  the 
absence  of  an  atmosphere,  life  is  impossible. 

Here  on  the  earth  we  have  such  a  variety  of 
weather  that  we  never  tire  speaking  about  it.  On 
the  moon  there  is  no  atmosphere.  Nor  is  there 
any  water  on  the  moon.  The  peculiar  topog- 
raphy of  the  moon  is  due  largely  to  the  absence 
of  air  and  water. 

Now,  if  we  rise  in  spirit  from  this  terrestrial 
home  of  ours,  and  allow  ourselves  to  be  wafted 
on  the  fleet  wings  of  imagination  to  the  utter- 
most limits  of  space,— ah,  what  an  immense  and 
overwhelming  sight  do  we  behold.  What  an 
intricate,  and  yet  harmonious,  movement  is 
observable  among  the  myriads  of  worlds  at  our 
feet.  Like  an  immense  machine  in  motion,  every 
orb  of  the  visible  universe  contributes  its  share 
to  the  grandeur,  unity,  and  harmony  of  the 
whole.  There  is  no  haphazard  collision.  Each 
and  every  planet  follows  its  path  at  its  pre- 
scribed rate  of  speed.  All  is  beauty  and  har- 
mony. 


58 


Onr  Palace  Wonderful 


The  meteors  and  shooting  stars  that  we  see 
flit  about  from  time  to  time  only  serve  to  em- 
phasize the  harmonious  action  of  the  universe 
as  an  entirety;  they  are  like  the  molecules  of 
dust  that  find  their  way  into  the  works  of  a 
watch,  and  are  tossed  from  the  wheels  as  soon 
as  these  are  set  in  motion. 

Everywhere,  and  at  all  times,  a  formal  and 
beautiful  order  is  maintained  in  the  motion  of 
the  heavenly  spheres.  Transits,  comets  and 
eclipses  are  foretold  wilh  the  greatest  accuracy 
many  years  before  they  become  visible.  The 
transit  of  Venus  across  the  disc  of  the  sun  was 
beheld  by  countless  thousands  some  years  ago; 
we  know  that  in  the  year  2004,  at  a  certain  hour, 
minute  and  second,  a  little  spot  shall  again  be 
seen  entering  the  disc  of  the  sun,— and  that  spot 
will  be  Venus,  the  next  in  brilliancy  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  to  the  sun  and  moon. 

Comets,  too,  can  be  accurately  traced  and 
foretold.  Several  years  ago  the  advent  of  Hal- 
ley's  comet  engaged  the  attention  of  the  scien- 
tific world.  Halley  observed  this  comet  in  the 
year  1682,  and,  applying  the  principles  of  New- 
ton, fixed  its  period  at  seventy-six  years.  He 
asserted  that  the  comet  would  return  again  in 
the  year  1758,  and  staked  his  reputation  as  a 
scientist  on  the  fulfillment  of  his  prediction.  The 
comet  appeared  again,  after  his  death,  on  Christ- 
mas Day  of  the  year  foretold  by  him — 1758.  The 
orbit  of  this  beautiful  comet  reaches  out  beyond 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    59 

that  of  Neptune.  The  best  view  of  Halley's  comet 
was  obtained  on  May  19th,  1910,  as  on  that  day 
it  was  nearest  to  the  earth. 

A  Papal  Bull,  ascribed  to  Calixtus  HI,  is 
sometimes  mentioned  in  connection  with  this 
comet.  The  Bull  is  a  myth,  and  is  made  the  oc- 
casion of  slanderous  attacks  against  the  Church. 
There  is  no  such  Papal  document  which  makes 
mention  of  Halley's  comet,  and  orders  that  sup- 
plications be  made  to  avert  evils  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  opinion  of  the  astronomers  of  the  day, 
would  "follow  in  the  w^ake  of  the  comet." 

Halley's  comet  has  come  and  gone  about 
twenty-five  times  since  the  year  12  B.  C,  without 
bringing  any  calamity  to  the  human  race.  The 
mission  of  a  comet,  like  that  of  the  other  celes- 
tial phenomena,  is  not  to  frighten  and  destroy, 
but  to  instruct  and  enlighten.  They  all  contrib- 
ute their  mite  towards  an  immense  harmonious 
entirety. 

A  comical  incident  illustrating  this  truth 
happened  in  China  a  few  centuries  ago.  When 
Father  Matthew  Ricci,  S.  J.,  who  died  in  Pekin, 
in  the  year  1610,  went  to  China  as  a  European 
missionary,  he  soon  acquired  great  renown  on 
account  of  his  knowledge  of  astronomy.  His 
fame  reached  the  Emperor  of  China,  who  sum- 
moned him  to  court  to  be  examined.  The  estab- 
lished astronomers  undertook  the  task,  and  re- 
ported that  the  foreigner's  knowledge  of  astron- 
omy was  very  limited.    Father  Ricci,  S.  J.,  ap- 


nn 


•u^ 


i 


60 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


pealed  from   their  judgment,   and   challenged 
them  to  calculate  the  next  eclipse  of  the  moon. 
Although  the  Chinese  astronomers  despised  "the 
stranger  without  queue  and  nails,"  yet  their  rep- 
utation was  now  at  stake.  Public  opinion  obliged 
them  to  accept  the  challenge.    Confident  of  suc- 
cess, they  calculated  and  published  the  time  of 
the  next   eclipse.     Father  Ricci   likewise   cal- 
culated and  published  his  time  for  the  occur- 
rence of  the  eclipse,  which  was  soon  to  occur. 
As  the  event  proved.  Father  Ricci  was  correct 
to  the  second,  whilst  the  court  astronomers  were 
fifteen  minutes  wrong  in  their  calculation.    The 
Emperor,  hearing  of  this,  cited  his  astronomers 
before  his  royal  court  and  demanded  an  ex- 
planation. "Your  majesty,"  replied  their  spokes- 
man, "the  explanation  is  simple;  this  stranger 
here  bewitched  the  moon."    "Well,  then,"  said 
the  Emperor,  with  a  smile,  "you  shall  continue 
to  be  servants  of  the  moon;  but  I  constitute  this 
man  her  controller." 

Some  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  planet 
Uranus,  by  Wm.  Herschel,  on  the  13th  of  March, 
1781,  it  was  observed  that  that  planet  was  af- 
fected by  an  unknown  star.  Uranus  was  noticed 
to  vary  not  a  little  from  the  course  which  it 
should  have  maintained,  and  that  it  occupied  a 
position  quite  different  from  the  one  it  would 
have  held  had  none  but  known  agents  been  ex- 
erting an  influence  upon  it.  Accordingly,  Le  Ver- 
rier,  in  France,  and  Adams,  in  England,  two  of 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    61 


the  greatest  mathematicians  of  modern  times, 
undertook  to  locate  the  whereabouts  of  a  con- 
ceivable planet  which  could  produce  the  dis- 
turbances noticed  in  the  course  of  the  newly  dis- 
covered Uranus.  On  the  18th  of  September, 
1846,  Le  Verrier  wrote  to  Dr.  Galle,  the  astrono- 
mer in  charge  at  the  Berlin  Observatory,  're- 
questing him  to  direct  his  telescope  on  a  partic- 
ular spot  of  the  sky,  which  was  carefully 
indicated,  "and  there,"  said  the  great  mathema- 
tician, "you  will  find  a  planet  which  neither  I 
nor  any  other  human  being  has  ever  beheld, 
but  which,  nevertheless,  must  lie  in  that  partic- 
ular spot  of  the  heavens,  because  calculations 
have  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  its  existence." 
This  astonishing  prediction  was  literally  true. 
The  mischievous  agent  was  discovered  to  be 
Neptune,  a  planet  2,793,000,000  miles  from  the 
sun,  and  possessing  a  bulk  250  times  that  of  the 
earth. 

One  of  Napoleon's  officers  asked  that  great 
general  one  day  in  a  jesting  manner,  how  he 
could  believe  that  there  is  a  God,  since  he  had 
never  seen  Him?  "Listen,  and  I  will  tell  you," 
said  Napoleon.  "You  say  that  I  have  a  talent  for 
war.  When  we  used  to  go  to  battle,  if  there 
was  any  important  movement  to  be  made,  you 
were  the  first  to  come  and  look  for  me,  and 
everyone  cried  out,  *  Where  is  the  Emperor?' 
And  why  so?  It  was  because  you  trusted  in  my 
talent,  yet  you  had  never  seen  it.    Did  you,  then. 


62 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


doubt  its  existence?  No.  My  victories  proved 
that  it  existed,  and  hence  no  one  called  it  in 
question.  But  which  of  my  victories  could  be 
compared  to  any  of  the  wonders  of  creation, 
which  all  bear  testimony  to  the  existence  of 
God?  What  military  movements  can  bear  any 
comparison  with  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies?  My  victories  made  you  believe  in  me; 
the  wonders  of  the  universe  make  me  believe  in 

God." 

The  learned  St.  Athanasius  well  says:  "When 
we  see  a  work  of  an  excellent  sculptor,  we  rec- 
ognize the  hand  of  the  unseen  artist  in  the  pro- 
portion of  the  parts  and  grace  of  the  whole;  so 
the  visible  universe  tells  of  the  unseen  Creator; 
the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  so  orderly, 
yet  so  diversified,  irresistibly  lead  to  the  con- 
viction that  they  are  under  guidance."  Yes, 
with  the  royal  Psalmist  we  are  compelled  to 
exclaim :  "The  heavens  show  forth  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  firmament  declareth  the  work  of 
His  hands."— Ps.  18:2.  They  are,  indeed,  the 
work  of  the  Almiglity,  of  Him  "Who  sendeth 
forth  light  and  it  goeth;  He  hath  called  it,  and 
it  obeyeth  Him.  And  the  stars  have  given  light 
in  their  watches  and  rejoiced;  they  were  called 
and  they  said:  Here  we  are;  and  with  cheer- 
fulness they  have  shined  forth  to  Him  that  made 
them." — Baruch,  3,  32  sqq. 

And  when  creating  those  stars  the  Almighty 
benevolently  came  to  the  aid  of  our  utter  help- 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    63 


lessness  and  gave  us  a  reliable  time-piece.  The 
huge  clock  which  He  then  made  and  set  going 
is  to  serve  the  nations  for  all  ages.  The  im- 
mense clock  of  the  universe  always  gives  the 
correct  time.  It  never  runs  down.  Nor  does  it 
need  repairing  and  adjusting.  Its  dial  is  the  sun 
and  its  myriad  hands,  indicating  time,  are  the 
earth,  moon,  stars,  planets  and  comets.  Let  him 
who  denies  that  this  clock  of  the  nations  was 
made  by  a  most  skillful  and  intelligent  Being 
be  consistent,  and  not  speak  of  the  man's  skill 
and  intelligence  who  made  his  watch.  If  those 
celestial  bodies,  which  follow  their  paths  so 
accurately,  are  the  work  of  a  blind,  unconscious 
force, — of  a  "Central  Power  House," — devoid  of 
intelligence  and  liberty  of  will,  then  surely  that 
makeshift  of  an  imitation, — a  watch, — must  be 
the  work  of  blind  force!  The  best  time-piece 
ever  made,  moreover,  requires  tinkering,  and 
adjusting.  A  few  times  a  year,  at  least,  it  must 
be  set  and  regulated  according  to  the  time  given 
us  by  the  clock  of  the  Almighty.  More  than 
this!  A  sufficient  intelligence,  contemplating 
the  God-given  course  of  the  various  parts  of 
God's  clock,  could  tell  us  with  the  greatest  ac- 
curacy their  relative  collocation  at  any  definite 
hour,  minute  or  second  of  some  future  day  till 
time  shall  be  no  more.  "Laplace  has  given  us 
indisputable  proof  that  the  period  of  the  earth's 
axial  rotation  has  not  changed  the  one  hun- 
dredth part  of  a  second  of  time  in  two  thousand 


64 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


years.  Man  cannot  make  a  clock  that  will  tell 
the  hours  for  a  single  day  with  the  exactness 
that  this  vast  globe  has  done  for  all  recorded 
time."  We  do  well,  then,  to  prefer  the  time 
indicated  by  the  heavenly  bodies  to  that  given 
by  our  watch.  The  storm-tossed  mariner,  whose 
all  is  at  stake,  will  certainly  do  so.  He  will  con- 
tinue to  believe  the  stars  even  though  the  atheist 
assert  that  their  movement  is  the  result  of 
chance.  And  so  will  every  sane  man  ascribe  the 
skill  and  inteUigence  revealed  in  the  movement 
of  the  celestial  phenomena  to  a  Supreme  and 
IntelHgent  Cause,  who  cannot  err,  nor  deceive. 
And  this  sufficient  causeless  Being  is  the  Al- 
mighty Creator  of  all  things,— the  source  of  all 
order  and  harmony.  He  hath  "ordered  all 
things  in  number,  weight  and  measure." 

An  artist's  skill,  moreover,  is  not  only 
measured  by  the  size,  beauty  and  symmetry  of 
the  work  he  accomplishes.  Skill  is  most  of  all 
shown  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  great  work 
wiUi  tittle  means.  Now  what  a  surprise  to  the 
intelligent  mind  when  one  hears  for  the  first 
time  that  this  immense  universe  with  all  its 
manifold  creatures  consists  of  less  than  eighty 

elements! 

It  is  commonly  believed,  moreover,  that  the 
universe  is  permeated  with  a  subUe  substance, 
called  ether,  and  that  this  substance  is  the  seat 
of  gravitation.  Every  material  object  is  under 
the  all-pervading  influence  of  this  hidden  force. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    65 

Owing  to  the  universal  law  of  gravitation,  which 
was  discovered  by  Newton,  bodies  attract  one 
another  in  the  ratio  of  their  quantities  inversely 
as  the  square  of  their  distances.  The  entire  visi- 
ble creation,  with  its  myriads  of  spheres,  is  kept 
in  wonderful  harmony  by  gravitation,  combined 
with  that  tendency  which  all  bodies  in  motion 
possess,  of  retaining  the  direction  given  them. 
By  an  artful  combination,  therefore,  of  the  cen- 
tripetal and  centrifugal  forces,  imparted  by  the 
Creator,  every  sphere  in  the  universe  is  kept  in 
its  proper  orbit  or  path.  And  so  skillfully  has  Di- 
vine Wisdom  adapted  these  forces  to  the  magni- 
tudes of  the  planets  and  stars  that  they  never  de- 
viate in  the  least  from  their  prescribed  courses. 
We  have,  then,  a  double  bond  of  union  that 
pervades  the  entire  universe,  and  makes  it  a 
complete  entirely.  We,  as  well  as  the  most  dis- 
tant objects  in  space,  are  permeated  and  in- 
fluenced by  botii  ether  and  gravitation.  The 
smallest  molecule  of  mailer,  no  less  than  the 
largest  orb  poised  in  space  unfathomable,  is 
under  tlie  absolute  sway  of  tliese  two  irresisti- 
ble forces.  Were  eillier  of  them  to  be  de- 
stroyed, our  satellite  would  instantly  collide 
with  the  earth,  and  both — the  moon  and  the 
earth — fly  towards  the  sun,  and  disappear  in  it 
as  a  snowflake,  that  falls  into  a  conflagration. 
In  fact,  all  the  myriads  of  stars  and  planets 
would  finally  disintegrate,  and  drift  back  into 
chaos,  whence  they  were  evolved. 


I 


66 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


In  viewing  those  luminous  spheres  that  form 
a  grand  entirety  with  the  mind's  eye,  the  truth  of 
the  poet's  words  become  especially  clear: 

"No  unregarded  star 
Contracts  its  light 
Into  so  small  a  character 

Removed  far  from  our  human  sight, 
But  if  we  steadfast  look 
We  shall  discern  m  it, 
As  in  some  holy  book,  ,  :.       ,         n 

How  man   may   heavenly  knowledge  learn. 

—Bahington. 

Even  one,  therefore,  of  sane  mind  can  attain 
to  a  certain  knowledge  of  God  from  tlie  con- 
templation of  His  handiwork,  the  visihle  uni- 
verse.   Yes,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  impossible 
for  anv  sane  person  to  live  long  on  earth  and 
remain  in  ignorance  of  the  Creator.    Nor  is  this 
knowledge  of  God,  as  John  Stuart  Mill  would 
have  us  believe,  "An  artificial  production";  no, 
it  is  a  most  palpable,  reasonable  and  natural 
truth.     That  there  exists  an  All-wise  Creator 
from  whom  all  things  have  their  being,  is  a  truth 
that  forces  itself  upon  us  at  every  turn.    Jt  is 
reflected  by  every  creature  in  the  universe :  "Ask 
the  beasts  and  they  shall  teach  thee,  and  the 
birds  of  the  air  and  they  shall  tell  thee.    Speak 
to  the  earth  and  it  shall  answer  thee,  and  the 
fishes  of  the  sea  shall  tell.    Who  is  ignorant  that 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  has  made  all  these  things?" 
So  patent  is  this  truth  that  none  but  the  most 


I 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    67 

shallow  mind  can  remain  ignorant  of  it  for  any 
length  of  time.  Indeed,  it  requires  a  much 
greater  effort  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  Creator 
than  it  does  to  accept  this  truth.  The  entire  uni- 
verse testifies  to  it.  Hence  we  find  that  there 
never  has  existed  a  nation,  or  a  tribe,  that  has 
not  possessed  a  knowledge  of  the  Deity.  Al- 
though the  individual,  by  abusing  his  free  will, 
and  by  precluding  all  arguments  to  the  contrary, 
can  perhaps  arrive  at  a  disbelief  in  Almighty 
God,  mankind  as  such  cannot;  the  first  nation,  or 
even  community,  of  sincere  atheists  or  infidels 
has  yet  to  be  found. 

Hence  it  is,  that  the  Sacred  Scroll  blames  the 
man,  who  does  not  possess  this  essential  knowl- 
edge, and  closes  his  eyes  to  the  book  of  nature. 
"By  the  greatness  of  creatures,"  says  the  Book 
of  Wisdom,  "the  Creator  of  them  may  be  seen, 
so  as  to  be  known  thereby."  And  again:  "All 
men  are  vain  in  whom  there  is  not  the  knowl- 
edge of  God — and  w^ho  by  these  good  things  that 
are  seen,  could  not  understand  Him  that  is." 
And  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  repudiates  those 
as  "inexcusable,"  who  do  not  possess  this  knowl- 
edge. A  clear  idea  of  God,  therefore,  as  He  is 
reflected  from  the  visible  universe,  can  be  easily 
secured  by  every  man  of  sane  mind  and  sound 
judgment.  Nor  can  any  man,  in  the  possession 
of  a  sane  mind,  for  even  a  brief  length  of  time, 
blamelessly  remain  in  ignorance  of  his  Creator; 
and  the  man  who  rejects  his  belief  in  God,  must 


68 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


slruade  against  his  betler  judgment  in  order  o 
become  an  infidel.  He,  therefore,  is  utterly 
wrong  who  asserts  that  "creation  is  one  con- 
Ton  erate  conjecture,"  or,  "that  we  can  only 
less  at  truth,"  and  "that  the  unanswerab  e 
Juesions  of  'whence'  and  Vhy'  linger  eternally 
on  our  lips."  These  questions  are  easily  an- 
^wered;  they  are  answered  in  clear  and  unmis- 
takable  terms,  both  by  science  and  by  Divine 
Revelation,^by  Astronomy  and  ^^f  g^^"' 

The  grand  and  stupendous  work  of  visible 

creation  loudly  proclaims  the  ^^jf ^.^^%^f..^,^ 
All-wise  and  Omnipotent  God.     It  is  of  little 
consequence  when  the  Almighty  created  the  uni- 
verse,  or   when   He   determined   the   laws   by 
which  the  celestial  orbs  are  governed.    It  mat- 
ters little  whether  the  Supreme  Architect,  whose 
existence  and  infmite  greatness  we  are  forced  to 
admit,  determined  the  size,  weight,  position  or 
path  of  the  stars  and  planets  instantaneously  or 
graduallv,-whether  at  a  recent  or  a  very  re- 
mote date.  Whether  the  telegrapher  who  flashes 
a  message  across  the  wire  be  at  a  distance  of 
100  or  1,000  miles,  it  matters  little;  in  either 
case,  we  conclude  with  absolute  certainty,  that 
the  regular  ticks  of  the  receiver  correspond  with 
those  of  the  transmitter,  and,  in  some  way  or 
another,   are   the   efi'ects  of  intellect  and  free 
will.    They  testify  to  a  combination  of  matter, 
force  and  mind.     So  does  the  universe. 

And  if  we  examine  this  superb  work  some- 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    69 


what  in  detail,  it  cannot  fail  to  awaken  in  us  a 
deep  sense  of  awe,  love  and  reverence  towards 
Him  who  made  it. 

What  mind  is  able  to  grasp  the  proportions 
according  to  which  the  Supreme  Architect  has 
designed  and  constructed  the  universe?  Its 
magnitude  baffles  all  description ! 

"Castor  and  Pollux  have  stood  side  by  side  in 
the  heavens, — at  least  to  human  eyes, — for  4,000 
years,  yet  they  are  flying  apart  at  the  velocity  of 
sixty-eight  miles  per  second,  which  in  a  day 
amounts  to  over  5,000,000  miles.  This  for  forty 
centuries,  and  still  they  are  *the  twins'  to  our 
eyes  today." 

The  bright,  reddish  star  "Sirius  has  a  mini- 
mum speed  of  2,000,000  miles  a  day,  and  yet  it 
takes  this  star  1,300  years,  apparently,  to  move 
but  a  few  inches  in  the  sky." 

"The  celebrated  star,  called  61  Cygni  is  a 
telescopic  double  sun;  the  constituent  parts  of 
it  are  forty-five  times  as  far  from  each  other  as 
the  earth  is  from  the  sun,  yet  it  takes  a  powerful 
telescope  to  show  any  distance  between  these 
companions.  No  better  illustration  of  the  vast 
scale  on  which  celestial  mechanics  are  carried 
out  can  be  found  than  by  reflecting  on  this  prop- 
osition." 

When  reflecting  on  the  incomprehensible  size 
of  the  material  universe,  we  are  instinctively 
prompted  to  exclaim  with  the  inspired  writer: 
"Great  and  wonderful  are  Thy  works,  O  Lord 


70 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


God  Almighty."  "Great  is  tlie  Lord,  and  great  is 
Si  power'  and  of  His  wisdom  there  is  no  num- 
ber." He  knoweth  each  of  the  "stars,  and  calleth 

them  all  by  name."  .  . 

And  who  is  not  inspired  with  a  reverential 
love  of  the  Almighty  when  beholding  Him  re- 
flected by  visible  creation? 

No  effect  can  be  superior  to  the  cause  that 
produced  it.  The  perfections,  which  we  admire 
n  any  work,  arc  necessarily  contained  in  him 
who  made  the  work.  Since,  then,  the  multi- 
plicity of  the  celestial  bodies  is  so  great,  their 
size  so  immense,  their  path  so  varied,  their  har- 
monious movement  so  entrancing,  their  beauty 
so  charming,  their  unity  so  jicrfect,  ah,  how  in- 
comprehensibly great  and  attractive  must  not 
He  be  who  created  them !  ... 

Tycho  Brahe,  the  celebrated  Danish  astron- 
omer, never  entered  his  observatory  to  make  a 
survey  of  the  heavens  without  having  first  put 
on  his  court  dress.    Asked  the  reason  for  this, 
he  repHed:     "If  men  dressed  in  honor  of  the 
king  and  court,  they  should  not  be  less  observant 
in  the  presence  of  their  Maker."    Sir  Isaac  New- 
ton, another  distinguished  astronomer,  was  wont 
to  tip  his  hat  every  time  he  heard  the  name  of 
God  mentioned,  and  this  he  did  out  of  reverence 

for  the  Deity.  . 

It  seems  to  me  that  an  intelligent  view  of  the 
material  world  must  of  necessity  awaken  a  deep 
sense  of  reverence  for  its  Creator. 


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Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    71 

No  man  is  able  to  duly  appreciate  the  ex- 
quisite harmony  of  the  celestial  spheres !  Count- 
less is  the  number  of  stars.  The  paths  of  the 
stellar  phenomena  are  varied  and  intricate. 
Many  of  the  heavenly  bodies  have  a  three-fold, 
and  some  even  a  four-fold  motion.  Yet  they 
follow  their  orbits  and  paths  along  curves, 
spiral,  elliptic  and  hyberbolical  courses  with  the 
utmost  precision  and  regularity. 

The  universe,  with  its  multitudinous  variety 
of  celestial  phenomena  so  intricately  and  har- 
moniously revolving  about  one  another,  may  be 
conceived  as  a  musical  instrument,  attuned  by 
the  Almighty.  With  surprising  celerity,  the 
Creator  at  times  changes  the  music  of  this  grand 
instrument  to  new  and  extraordinary  melodies; 
yet,  though  changed,  the  harmony  of  the  spheres 
is  perennially  charming. 

Those  sweet  and  entrancing  chords  may  be 
enjoyed  by  all  who  hearken.  The  facult}'^  of 
hearing  and  enjoying  the  melodious  strains  of 
this  myriad-stringed  harp,  makes  us  in  a  meas- 
ure like  to  God, — the  one  last  source  of  all  true 
harmony.  By  means  of  this  God-like  faculty, 
man  has  in  a  certain  sense,  the  power  to 
create  his  own  world,  for  it  is  capable  of  well- 
nigh  infinite  development. 

"In   reason's  ear  those  orbs  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  g:lorious  voice; 
Forever  singring  as  they  shine, 
*The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine/  " 


72 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


LAUD ATE 

Praise  ye  the  Lord  from  the  heavens;  praise  ye  Him  in 

the  high  places.  .  . 

Praise  ye  Him,  all  his  angels;  praise  ye  Him,  all  his 

hosts.  .      __.         11  „„ 

Praise  ye  Him,  0  sun  and  moon;  praise  Him,  all  ye 

stars  and  light. 

Praise  Him,  ye  heavens  of  heavens ;  and  let  all  the  waters 
that  are  above  the  heavens  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

For  he  spoke,  and  they  were  made ;  He  commanded,  and 

they  were  created. 

He  hath  established  them  for  ever,  and  for  ages  of  ages; 
He  hath  made  a  decree,  and  it  shall  not  pass  away. 

Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth,  ye  dragons,  and  all  ye 

deeDS  * 

Fire,  hail,  snow,  ice,  stormy  winds,  which  ful6ll  His 

word  * 

Mountains  and  all  hills,  fruitful  trees  and  all  cedars; 
Beasts  and  all  cattle;  serpents  and  feathered  fowls; 
Kings  of  the  earth  and  all  people ;  princes  and  all  judges 

of  the  earth; 

Young  men  and  maidens;  let  the  old  with  the  younger, 
praise  the  name  of  the  Lord;  for  His  name  alone  is  exalted. 

The  praise  of  Him  is  above  heaven  and  earth;  and  He 
hath  exalted  the  horn  of  His  people. 

A  hymn  to  all  His  saints;  to  the  children  of  Israel,  a 
people  approaching  to  Him.     Alleluia.— Psa/m  148. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    73 


4.  Speculations:     Are  the  Other  Worlds 

Inhabited? 

the  habitability  of  the  planet  mars 

An  interesting  question,  and  one  that  pre- 
sents itself  in  this  connection,  is :  Are  the  other 
worlds,  poised  in  space,  inhabited? 

There  is  no  doubt  that  some  of  the  other 
spheres  in  the  universe  are  habitable.  But 
whether  they  are  actually  inhabited  is  quite  an- 
other question.  I  dare  say  this  question  shall 
always  be  a  mere  speculative  one. 

Professor  Percival  Lowell,  A.  B.,  LL.  D.,  Di- 
rector of  the  Observatory  at  Flagstaff,  Arizona, 
claims,  as  did  Schiaparelli  before  him,  to  have 
observed  numerous  lines,  or  "canals,"  on  the 
planet  Mars.  The  white  caps,  discernible  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year,  around  the  two 
poles  of  Mars,  Lowell  believes  to  be  large  areas 
of  snow  and  ice,  which  melt  in  spring  and  sum- 
mer. From  these  and  other  phenomena,  the 
learned  professor  concludes  that  the  "red 
planet"  is  inhabited.  The  mysterious  lines,  ac- 
cording to  him,  are  canals,  which  were  built  by 
the  Martians  to  conduct  the  scanty  water  supply 
in  spring  and  summer  from  the  poles  to  the 
centers  of  population. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  Professor 
Harold  Jacoby,  former  assistant  to  Professor 
Lowell,  but  at  present  Professor  of  Astronomy 


i 


II 


74 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


at  Columbia  University,  "The  size  of  a  Mars- 
picture  made  by  the  Lowell  telescope  is  about 
the  size  of  a  pin-head."  In  these  dots,  niagmfied, 
the  so-called  "canals"  were  discerned  Hence, 
there  is  good  reason  for  believing,  says  Professor 
Jacoby,  that  the  "canal^'  may  be  the  effect  of 
"ray-,"  or  "halo-illusion." 

"At  the  annual  session  of  the  National  Acad- 
emy  of  Science,  held  in  April,  1910,  at  Washing- 
ton,  D.  C,  Dr.  George  E.  Hale,  director  of  the 
Mt    Wilson   Solar  Observatory,  stated   that  he 
had  reproduced  photographs  of  the  planet  Mars 
taken  with  a  larger  telescope  than  that  used  by 
Professor  Lowell,  and  according  to  his  clanii, 
under  far  more  favorable  circumstances.     Ur. 
Hale  contended  that  these  photos  showed  only 
a  mass  of  blotches  and  markings  in  no  wise 
geometricallv  distributed,— as  is  the  contention 
of  Lowell.    Photographs  made  by   Professors 
Campbell  and  Barnard,  of  the  Lick  Observator>% 
were  also  shown,  and  these  indicated  virtually 
the  same  condition  on  the  planet."    And  Profes- 
sor E.  W.  Maunder,  Superintendent  of  the  Solar 
Department  of  the  Royal  Observatory  at  Green- 
wich, maintains   that  "none    has   ever  seen    a 
single  canal  on  Mars.    It  were  belter  for  science, 
he  adds,  that  the  'canal-theory'  be  abandoned 
completely."     Professor  Campbell,  Director  of 
Lick    Observatory,    has,    moreover,    carefully 
studied  the  spectrum  of  Mars,  and  asserts  that 
there  is  no  water  on  the  planet.    He  maintains. 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    75 

moreover,  that  "there  is  no  single  scrap  of  evi- 
dence that  Mars  is  inhabited." 

Yet  many  believe  with  Lowell  that  our 
neighbor  planet  is  inhabited  by  beings  of  ex- 
traordinary intellectuality.  Some  even  contend 
that  it  is  possible  to  signal  the  Martians.  The 
defenders  of  this  absurd  opinion  had  a  good  op- 
portunity to  give  a  tangible  proof  during  the 
month  of  September,  1909.  For  on  the  18th  of 
September,  1909,  Mars  was  as  near  to  the  earth 
as  it  will  ever  be.  It  was  on  that  day  36,250,000 
miles  distant  from  us;  whilst  when  it  is  farthest 
away,  its  distance  is  225,000,000  miles  from  the 
earth.  But  I  have  not  heard  or  read  that  anyone 
has  succeeded  in  signaling  those  supposititious 
planetary  inhabitants. 

Maybe,  the  sagacious  reader  knows  what 
"Judge"  had  to  say  about  the  savant,  who  main- 
tained that  a  message  could  be  sent  to  the  Mar- 
tians for  $10,000,000?  The  opinion  of  "Judge" 
is,  that  all  such  messages  be  sent  C.  O.  D. 

In  all  earnestness  let  it  be  said  that  there  is 
no  good  reason  for  "peopling"  the  other  celestial 
spheres.  There  is  no  proof  that  any  one  of  the 
celestial  bodies,  save  the  earth,  is  actually  in- 
habited. A  few  scientists  have  advanced  theo- 
ries to  this  effect;  but  no  certain  evidence  has 
been  given  for  the  belief  that  Mars  or  any  other 
planet  is  actually  peopled. 

Many  are  no  doubt  desirous  to  discover  other 
inhabited  worlds  than  ours  because  they  believe 


II 


76 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


that  this  fact  would  induce  man  to  give  greater 
dory  to  the  Creator.  I  dare  say,  however,  that 
this  would  not  be  the  case.  We  know  that  there 
is  nothing  impossible  to  the  Omnipotent  Creator 
of  all  things.  He  could  have  created  and  peopled 
a  million  planets  as  easily  as  He  did  the  one  we 
inhabit.  Why,  then,  should  the  discovery  that 
there  are  living  beings  on  another  planet  en- 
hance our  idea  of  the  Almighty?  True,  this 
little  globe,  over  which  the  Sovereign  Lord  has 
given  us  dominion,  is  but  one  of  millions  of 
spheres  spinning  onward  through  space  incon- 
ceivable. Considered  as  an  integral  part  of  the 
stellar  universe  the  earth  is  but  a  speck. 

And  if  this  globe  of  ours  is  but  a  speck  com- 
pared with  the  vast  number  and  vast  size  of  the 
spheres  floating  all  around  us,  then,  indeed,  it 
is  a  little  difficult  to  conceive  why  it  alone  should 
be  inhabited.    But,  if  we  enter  upon  the  nature 
and  destiny  of  man,  the  chief  inhabitant  of  the 
earth,  we  may  easily  conclude  that  the  rest  of 
the  material  universe  has  been  created  as  a  set- 
ting and  ornament  to  the  earth,  man's  temporal 
home.    Man  is  the  image  of  the  Creator,  and 
endowed  with  a  nature  fully  capable  of  appre- 
ciating such   magnanimous   generosity   on    the 
part  of  the  Almighty. 

Mr.  C.  de  Kirwan,  admitting  the  possibility  of 
other  habitable  globes  than  ours,  expresses  the 
opinion  that  "the  more  astronomical  science 
progresses,  the  smaller  become  the  chances  of 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    77 

seeing  physiologic  life  extended  therein."  In  his 
excellent  book  on  the  Origin  of  the  World,  M. 
Herve  Taye  seems  to  aptly  put  the  present  state 
of  this  fascinating  question  thus:  "If  it  would 
be  puerile  to  pretend  that  there  could  be  only 
one  inhabited  globe  in  the  universe,  it  would  be 
just  as  untenable  to  assert  that  all  these  worlds 
are  or  should  be  inhabited."* 

"The  opinion  that  the  universe  was  made 
for  man,"  says  Viscount  de  Bonald,  "cannot  as- 
tonish a  high  philosophy  which  teaches  that 
the  material  universe  is  only  the  least  of  the 
gifts  that  God  has  bestowed  on  man.  When  we 
reflect  that  the  Creator  of  so  many  worlds  has 
given  Himself  to  us,  why  should  we  refuse  to 
believe  that  He  has  given  us  His  creatures.  Is 
the  work  of  more  value  than  the  workman?" — 
Catechism  of  Perseverance, — Gaume  I,  131. 

The  earth,  moreover,  was  chosen  as  the 
temporal  abode  of  the  God-man  and  the  scene 
of  His  all-saving  redemption.  Hence,  the  con- 
clusion that  the  earth  alone  is  inhabited  is,  at 
least,  tenable  and  plausible. 

5.  Catholic  Astronomers 

It  seems  to  me  no  more  than  just  and  proper 
that  a  well-merited  tribute  be  here  paid  the 
eminent  Catholic  scientists  that  have  won  re- 
nown by  their  astronomical  studies.  We  find 
that  from  the  most  ancient  times  of  the  Chris- 


•  "Catholic  Fortnightly  Review."— XXI,  18,  661. 


78 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


lian  era  illustrious  Catholics  have  devoted  their 
talents  to  the  science  of  astronomy;  and  this, 
too,  with  more  than  ordinary  success  in  solving 
the  countless  problems  which  are  here  to  be  met 

If  we  glance  over  the  annals  of  this  noble 
branch  of  science,  we  find  among  the  long  list 
of  Catholic  astronomers  a  St.  Bede  (A.  D.  76o) 
who,  as  his  learned  scientific  works  show,  was 
one  of  the  very  first  to  defend  the  globular  form 
of  the  earth;  he  also  held  that  the  ebb  and  fiow 
of  the  tides  was  caused  by  the  moon;  moreover, 
St.  Bede  explained  the  true  cause  of  the  eclipse 
of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  unveiled  the  super- 
stitious vagaries  of  astrology. 

The  Abbot  Alcuin  (A.  D.  804)  was  the  first 
to  boldly  defend  that  the  portentous  and  hither- 
to misunderstood  movements  of  Mars  were  re- 
quired by  its  volume  and  position. 

Sylvester  II,  (who  reigned  as  Pope  from  999 
to  1003),  better  known,  perhaps,  as  the  cele- 
brated Gerbert,  was,  undoubtedly,  one  of  the 
leading  astronomers  of  his  time. 

Even  before  the  invention  of  the  telescope, 
Albertus  Magnus,  (who  died  in  1280),  the  great 
theologian,  taught  that  the  beautiful  girdle  of 
light  which  encircles  the  evening  sky,— the 
Milky  Way, — is  a  vast  assemblage  of  stars. 

Mueller  of  Regcnsburgh,  better  known  as 
Regiomontanus,  Bishop  of  Ratisbon,  who  lived 
toward  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  "was 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    79 


the  greatest  astronomer  Europe  had  up  to  that 
time  produced."* 

Pope  Gregory  XIII  (who  died  in  1585)  cor- 
rected the  mistake  of  eleven  minutes  a  year  in 
our  present  calendar,  and  thus  conferred  a  uni- 
versal blessing  on  mankind. 

The  immortal  Nicolas,  of  Cusa,  who,  two 
hundred  years  before  Galileo,  boldly  asserted 
that  the  earth,  and  not  the  sun,  was  in  motion, 
was  a  Catholic  priest  and  cardinal. 

Copernicus,  one  of  the  greatest  astronomers 
that  ever  lived,  was  a  monk,  and  taught  in  the 
University  of  Pope  Paul  III.  It  was  to  this  il- 
lustrious Pontiff,  by  the  way,  that  Copernicus 
dedicated  his  great  work  on  the  rotary  motion 
of  the  earth.  Copernicus  is  the  founder  of  the 
Copernican  system,  which  places  the  sun  in  the 
center,  with  planets  revolving  around  it.  Our 
admiration  for  the  achievements  of  this  truly 
great  scientist  is  necessarily  enhanced  when  we 
remember  that  in  his  time  the  telescope  was 
still  unknown.  His  observatory  was  the  garret 
of  a  small  farm-house.  Forty  years  of  incessant 
labor  were  devoted  by  him  to  the  great  work 
which  immortalized  his  name.  It  consists  of  six 
volumes,  and  bears  the  title,  "De  Coelestium 
Orbium  Revolutionibus."  The  monument  that 
marks  the  resting  place  of  Copernicus  bears  the 
suggestive  epitaph:  "Sta  sol,  ne  moveare."  Mr. 
Bayne  accords  Copernicus  "the  first  place  among 
astronomers." 


I  1 


•  "What  Catholics  Have  Done  for  Science." — Brennan,  p.  11. 


80 


Oar  Palace  Wonderful 


Galileo  Galilei,  born  in  1564,  has  done  more, 
perhaps,  for  the  science  of  astronomy  than  any 
other  man.    Sometimes  this  truly  great  as  rono 
mer  is  referred  to  as  a  "martyr  of  science,    who 
was    persecuted   by    the    Catholic    Church,    o 
which  he  was  a  member.  And  this  supposed  f  ac 
is  alleged  as  a  proof  that  the  Church  is  opposed 
to  science.    This  accusation  is  unjustly  flaunted 
against  the  Church.     If   the  CathoUc  Church 
were   opposed   to  science,  why  is   it   that  her 
enemies  do  not  bring  other  instances  than    his 
soUtary  one  of  Gahleo?    The  facts  even  m  this 
isolated  case  are  often  garbled  and  misrepre- 
sented.   Those  who  are  desirous  of  securing  a 
truthful  view  of  the  Galileo  case  would  do  well 
to  read  the  pamphlet  of  Rev.  John  Gerard,  S.  .1., 
entitled  "Galileo,"  published  by   the   Catholic 
Truth  Society.     "Galileo,  and  His  Condemna- 
tion,"  by  E.  R.  Hull,  S.  J.,  is  also  very  good 

Again,  the  first  to  observe  a  transit  of  the 
planet  Mercury  across  the  disc  of  the  sun  was 
the  Abbot  Gassendi. 

The  Theatine  Monk  Piazzi  enjoys  the  distinc- 
tion of  having  been  the  first  discoverer  of  the 
asteroids,  or  small  planets.  ,,.  o  t 

The  names  of  Clavius  S.  J.,  Grimaldi  b.J., 
Roscovitch  S.  J.,  Mayer  S.  J.,  De  Vico,  S.  J.,  Cas- 
sini,  S.  J.,  Orioli,  Picard,  and  Denza*  are  those  ot 
other  Catholic  priests  who  have  won  renown  in 
the  field  of  astronomy.  These  scholarly  men  were 

•  "Catholic  Science  and  Scientists."— Zahm.  p.  74. 


Mineral  Kingdoiti  Postulates  a  Creator    81 

as  well  versed  in  the  science  of  the  stars  as  in 
the  science  of  the  saints. 

Pietro  Angelo  Secchi  S.  J.,  who  died  on  the 
26th  of  February,  1878,  deserves  an  especial 
mention,  on  account  of  his  "discoveries  in  spec- 
troscopic analysis,  and  in  stellar  physics."  His 
renowned  work  on  the  sun  reflects  the  luster  of 
that  great  luminary,  as  well  as  surrounds  its 
learned  author  with  a  brilliant  aureole. 

Leverrier,  too,  whose  amazing  calculations 
we  have  just  seen,  was  a  pious  Catholic,  "de- 
voted alike  to  crucifix  and  telescope,"  "two  ob- 
jects that,  in  his  mind,  were  typical  of  what  can 
never  be  too  closely  united."  It  was  Leverrier, 
moreover,  who  calculated  the  weight  of  Mer- 
cury, a  most  difficult  task  owing  to  this  planet's 
proximity  to  the  sun. 

Messier,  "the  ferret  of  comets,"  Maraldi, 
Castelli,  Bianchini,  Lacaille  and  Descartes  like- 
wise deserve  honorable  mention  in  this  connec- 
tion. 

And,  if  we  come  down  to  our  own  time,  we 
can  point  with  pride  to  the  Rev.  Father  Hagen, 
S.  J.,  former  Professor  of  Astronomy  and  Mathe- 
matics in  Georgetown  University.  In  April,  1906, 
Father  Hagen  was  appointed  Director  General 
of  the  Vatican  Observatory  by  the  late  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  Pope  Pius  X.  The  "Atlas  Stellarum 
Variabilium,"  "Charts  of  the  Variable  Stars," 
which  this  world-renowned  astronomer  has  pre- 
pared, and  in  part  published,  will  undoubtedly 


1 


82 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


immortalize  his  name.  This  great  work  repre- 
sents twenty  years  of  observation  by  night  and 
calculation  by  day.  j.    ,  .      t 

Miss  Agnes  Mary  Gierke,  who  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 1907,  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Astro- 
nomical Society  and  a  devout  Catholic.  She  has 
written  three  excellent  books  on  astronomy, 
and  is  considered  "its  best  modern  historian. 
Her  pubhshed  works  are:  "Astronomy  During 
the  Nineteenth  Century,"  "Problems  on  Astro- 
physics," and  "Modern  Cosmogonies." 

Father  Perry  S.  J.,  the  late  Director  of  Stony- 
hurst  Observatory,  has,  likewise,  contributed 
much    to    the    advancement    of    astronomical 

knowledge. 

In  recognition  of  his  contributions  to  various 
astronomical  and  other  scientific  publications, 
the  Rev.  William  F.  Rigge,  S.  J.,  Professor  of 
Astronomy  in  Creighton  University,  Omaha, 
Nebraska,  has  been  honored  with  a  fellowship 
in  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  of  England. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  Catholic 
scholars  who  have  gained  celebrity  by  their 
astronomical  researches.  The  Catholic  Church 
in  our  own  times,  as  well  as  in  former  times, 
may  rightly  be  termed  a  patroness  of  astron- 
omy. She  today  possesses  more  astronomical 
observatories  than  any  country,  or  denomina- 
tion, on  the  globe.  Reginning  with  the  Vatican 
Observatory,  which  was  founded  out  of  the  pri- 
vate purse  of  the  illustrious  Leo  XIII,  of  blessed 


Mineral  Kingdom  Postulates  a  Creator    83 

memory,  we  find  them  scattered  throughout  the 
world.  The  Jesuits,  alone,  have  seventeen  ob- 
servatories attached  to  their  colleges  and  mis- 
sions. 

In  fact,  the  Catholic  Church  is  ever  ready  to 
encourage  and  promote  every  branch  of  scien- 
tific knowledge.  The  erudite  Pope  Leo  XIII 
once  said  in  an  Encyclical:  "And  will  it  be 
urged  that  the  Church  is  systematically  opposed, 
or  cold  and  indifferent,  to  the  studies  and  re- 
searches which  yield  such  precious  results?  Or 
that  she  stubbornly  insists  on  closing  the  book 
of  Nature  in  order  that  none  may  read  further 
therein?  Whosoever  gives  credit  to  fancies  so 
grotesque  shows  how  little  he  knows  of  the 
flame  of  zeal  that  burns  in  the  heart  of  Christ's 
spouse." 

The  farther  we  advance  into  that  vast  realm 
about  us  the  more  perfect  shall  be  our  intel- 
lectual invasion  and  occupancy.  As  yet,  man's 
invasion  of  the  great  world  above  and  about 
him  has  been  very  limited.  What  has  thus  far 
been  discovered  and  explored  with  the  telescope 
and  spectroscope  is  exceedingly  little  compared 
with  that  which  is  still  to  be  learned.  Professor 
J.  J.  Thompson,  the  well-known  physicist,  can- 
didly avows  that  "the  sum  of  (scientific)  knowl- 
edge is  at  present,  at  any  rate,  a  diverging  not 
a  converging  series.  As  we  conquer  peak  after 
peak  we  see  in  front  of  us  regions  full  of  interest 
and  beauty,  but  we  do  not  see  our  goal,  we  do 


S4 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


not  see  the  horizon;  in  the  distance  tower  sUll 
higher  peaks,  which  yield  to  those  who  ascend 
them  still  wider  prospects,  and  deeper  feelings, 
whose  truth  is  emphasized  by  every  advance  in 
science,  that  'Great  are  the  Works  of  the  Lord,' 
and  greater  still  His  love  towards  man." 

The  more  thoroughly  the  secrets  of  Nature 
are  mastered,  the  deeper  too  should  be  our 
reverence  for  Almighty  God,  by  whose  unfailing 
design  all  laws  and  all  elements  are  moved. 
"Every  advance,  therefore,  of  real  science,  being 
a  new  evidence  of  man's  intelligence  and  afford- 
ing a  new  insight  into  the  marvels  of  creation, 
is  a  cause  of  rejoicing  for  the  Church."  For 
this  potent  reason  the  Catholic  Church  always 
has  been  and  always  shall  be  an  enthusiastic 
friend  to  science.  The  Catholic  Church  has 
always  endeavored  to  perfect  the  bond  of  union 
which  exists  between  Science  and  Religion. 


30 


O 


CHAPTER    III 

THE  VEGETABLE  KINGDOM  REFLECTS  THE  WISDOM  OF 

THE  CREATOR 


1.  Preliminary  Remarks 

THE  visible  objects  of  this  world  form  two 
great  classes,  the  organic  or  animate,  and 
the  inorganic  or  inanimate.  All  the  things  of 
this  world  belong  to  one  of  these  two  classes, 
which  are  essentially  diflferent  from  one  anollier 
and  easily  distinguished.  When  studying  their 
nature,  we  find  that,  under  all  circumstances 
and  at  all  times,  permanence  characterizes  the 
one  kind  of  creatures  and  continual  change  the 
other.  As  harmonious  action  among  its  various 
parts  is  the  essential  mark  of  an  object  pos- 
sessing life,  so  is  permanence  the  essential  mark 
of  things  without  life. 

We  have  briefly  touched  upon  things  devoid 
of  life,  and  learned  that  the  earth  has  been  cre- 
ated and  prepared  to  be  the  abode  of  vegetable 
and  animal  life. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  some  mani- 
festations of  this  wonderful  something  called 
life. 


85 


m 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


"Wondrous  truths,  and  manifold  as  wondrous, 

God  hath  written  in  the  stars  above; 
But  no  le«s  in  the  bright  flow'rets  under  us 
Stands  the  revelation  of  His  love." 

—Longfellow. 

Men  of  means  and  leisure  often  go  to  great 
pains  and  expense  to  see  a  famous  work  of  art 
or  architecture.  We  all  find  delight  in  viewing 
the  products  of  human  skill.  Yet  we  easily  pass 
by  the  tree,  herb,  and  flower,  without  ever  think- 
ing of  the  great  power  and  wisdom  revealed  by 
these  works  of  divine  skill.  If  in  passing  through 
a  museum,  moreover,  our  eye  lights  upon  a 
beautiful  painting  we  contemplate  it  with  pleas- 
ure, and  marvel  at  the  artist's  skill.  But  should 
we  examine  the  work  with  a  microscope  our 
pleasure  would  at  once  cease.  Not  so  with  the 
works  of  God.  The  painting  of  the  Divine  Arti- 
ficer will  bear  the  scrutiny  of  the  most  power- 
ful microscope.  I  saw  a  photograph  a  short 
time  ago,  writes  Professor  W.  F.  Watson,  in  Sc. 
Am.,  V-25-1901,  representing  a  bee's  sting  and 
the  point  of  a  needle  side  by  side.  Although 
the  bee's  sting  had  been  magnified  more  than 
the  needle-point,  yet  "the  microscopic  smooth- 
ness and  perfection  of  detail  in  the  natural  ob- 
ject presented  a  striking  contrast  to  the  clumsy 
workmanship  exhibited  in  the  needle,  though 
its  magnification  was  much  less  than  that  of 
the  sting."  In  fact,  the  closer  we  examine  any 
object  of  nature  the  more  shall  we  find  to  excite 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator    87 

our  wonder,  and  the  more  ought  it  prompt  us  to 
praise  Him  who  made  it.  The  true  artist  will 
readily  admit  this  fact.  "What  is  ornamental 
art  but  the  isolation  and  embodiment  in  works 
of  human  skill  of  the  beauty  that  is  diffused 
through  all  the  works  of  nature?"  "And  this 
beauty  is  as  manifest  in  every  part  and  atom 
composing  the  works  of  nature  as  in  the  com- 
bined whole."*    Well,  then,  does  the  poet  sing: 


"Happy  he  who  walks  with  God !    Whom  what  he  find 
Of  flavor,  or  of  scent  in  fruit  or  flower, 
Or  what  he  views  of  beautiful  or  grand 
In  nature,  from  the  broad  majestic  oak 
To  the  green  blade  that  twinkles  in  the  sim, 
Prompts  with  remembrance  of  a  present  God." 

— Cowper, 

2.  General  Morphology  of  Plants 

Whatever  possesses  organic  life  is  neces- 
sarily subject  to  external  and  internal  changes. 
To  begin  to  exist,  to  arrive  at  maturity,  to  de- 
cline, die  and  then  decay,  is  the  brief  history  of 
all  the  living  creatures  in  this  world.  Unlike 
lifeless  objects,  whatever  lives  does  so  by  a 
peculiar  interior  assimilation  of  certain  par- 
ticles received  from  its  surroundings,  and  elab- 
orated in  a  most  unique  manner.  It  is  to  the 
organic  or  animate  class  of  creatures  that  the 
varied  and  charming  objects  belong  which  form 
the  vegetable  kingdom. 

•Balfour,  "Botany  and  Religion,"  pp.  401  and  403. 


88 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


There  is,  perhaps,  no  science  that  furnishes 
such  satisfactory  and  convincing  evidence  for 
the  existence  of  an  All-wise  and  Loving  Creator 
as  that  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  If  rightly 
pursued,  the  study  of  botany  will  certainly  lead 
one  to  the  consoling  acquisition  of  elevating 
and  inspiring  ideas  of  the  power,  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  the  Almighty.  Every  plant,  as  well 
as  every  part  of  a  plant,  is  an  illustration  of 
design,  and  therefore  a  proof  for  the  existence 
of  a  Benevolent  God. 

In  our  treatment  of  this  delightful  subject, 
we  shall  observe  the  natural  order,  and  rise  from 
the  lesser  to  the  greater. 

What  wonders  are  to  be  met  with  at  the  very 
entrance  to  this  sanctuary  of  the  Most  High! 
Though  we  but  superficially  examine  a  plant, 
we  shall  find  that  each  portion,  or  member  of 
its  organism,  its  root,  stem,  leaf,  flower,  and 
seed, — reveals  a  world  of  wonders.  We  shall 
soon  discover,  too,  that  every  plant,  both  in  its 
entirety  and  in  its  individual  members,  is  under 
the  dominion  of  fixed  and  unalterable  laws. 
And  according  to  the  external  manifestations  of 
these  universal  laws  which  govern  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  each  and  every  plant  can  be  brought 
under  a  certain  genus  and  species. 

A  most  remarkable  economy  reveals  itself 
in  the  very  origin  of  plants. 

The  seeds  of  cereals,  as,  for  instance,  those 
of  wheat,  oats,  corn,  and  the  like,  consist  chiefly 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator    89 


of  a  nutritious  matter,  which,  when  surrounded 
by  moist  soil,  swell  and  undergo  solution.  If 
sufllcient  soil  and  moisture  surround  the  trans- 
formed seed,  it  will  in  due  time  develop  a  germ, 
then  sprout,  and  finally  send  a  small  root  into 
the  ground. 

And  what  ingenious  contrivances  do  we  not 
find  to  fix  the  seed  into  the  soil.  The  seed  of 
some  kinds  of  plants,  as  of  Collomia,  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  network  of  fibres,  which,  when 
moistened,  uncoils  in  a  spiral  manner  and  thus 
bore  the  seed  into  the  ground. 

As  soon  as  a  seed  becomes  furnislied  with 
roots  and  is  firmly  fixed  in  the  soil,  the  extract- 
ing of  nourishing  fluids  from  mother  earth 
begins.  These  fluids,  in  turn,  ascend  upward 
and  are  transformed  into  cells;  the  cells,  en- 
dowed with  vitality  by  the  Creator,  now  begin 
to  multiply  and  to  send  forth  stem,  branches 
and  leaves,  or  their  equivalent.  As  soon  as  the 
nutritious  sap,  which  is  extracted  from  the  soil 
and  drawn  to  the  leaves  by  capillary  attraction, 
reaches  the  extreme  portions  of  the  plant,  it  is 
there  subjected  to  the  action  of  heat,  air  and 
sunlight;  these  change  the  sap  into  various  solid 
substances,  which  are  destined  to  give  firmness 
and  solidity  to  the  plant  according  to  its  nature. 
When  the  stem  and  branches  are  produced, 
there  begins  a  beautiful  interchange  of  services 
between  the  various  parts  of  the  individual 
organism. 


00 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


A.  The  Stem 

Scarcely  has  a  plant  attained  to  the  dignity 
of  an  individual,  when  we  can  observe  a  con- 
tinual harmony  of  action  in  all  its  parts.  If  we 
examine  the  stem,  whose  purpose  is  to  convey 
nourishment  and  to  support  the  leaves,  we  find 
that  it  possesses  a  most  marvelous  regularity 
of  structure.  The  kind  of  stem  depends  on  the 
kind  of  seed  from  which  the  plant  springs. 
"Thus,  dicotyledon  seeds  have  exogenous  stems, 
monocotyledons  have  endogenous  stems,  and 
acotyledons  have  acrogenous  stems,  or  such 
stems  as  increase  by  additions  secreted  chiefly 
without,  within,  or  at  the  summit  of  the  stem." 
There  is  a  surprising  cooperation  observable 
among  the  cells,  which  build  up  the  stem  of  a 
plant.  "The  nourishment,  extracted  from  the 
soil,  in  its  upward  course  passes  chiefly  through 
the  internal  parts  of  the  stems,  being  moved 
onwards  by  the  force  of  imbibation  and  by 
capillary  attraction,  as  modified  by  vital  actions. 
When  it  has  reached  the  leaves  and  undergone 
certain  changes,  it  returns  toward  the  bark" 
and  is  there  deposited  in  the  form  of  hard  sub- 
stances. The  permanent  woody  stems,  with 
their  pith,  concentric  rings,  cellular  and  fibrous 
bark,  present  an  immense  variety  of  structure. 
And  how  naturally  does  not  the  stem  adapt  it- 
self to  its  immediate  surroundings !  Some  plants, 
too  weak  to  support  themselves,  send  their  stems 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator    91 


around  the  nearest  object  and  thus  become  de- 
pendent on  the  same  for  growth,  support  and 
development.  Of  this  class  we  discern  some, 
like  "the  Passion  flower  and  French  bean,  in- 
variably twine  their  stems  from  right  to  left"; 
others  again,  like  the  hop  and  honeysuckle, 
"always  twine  their  stems  in  the  contrary  direc- 
tion, 1.  e.,  from  left  to  right." 

B.  The  Leaf 

How  interesting,  too,  is  the  structure  of 
the  leaf  with  its  cells,  veins,  arteries,  and  fas- 
cinating forms  and  colors!  The  leaf  of  a  plant 
keeps  it  in  touch  with  the  earth  and  air.  Its 
chief  function  is  to  expose  the  sap  to  the  action 
of  the  sun  and  atmosphere.  The  veins  of  the 
leaf  are  the  channels  through  which  the  up- 
building juices  of  a  plant  flow.  In  the  leaf  this 
nutrition  is  then  divided.  In  its  downward 
course  the  strength-giving  aliment  is  then  de- 
posited into  the  wood  of  the  stem  and  bark,  thus 
forming  at  the  same  time  a  protection  for  the 
more  tender  portions  of  the  individual.  Through 
the  leaf,  too,  the  superfluous  fluids  are  exhaled, 
and  the  CO,,  (carbonic  acid  gas),  necessary  for 
its  growth,  taken  up.  Thus  the  leaves  of  a  plant 
may  be  appropriately  termed  its  lungs.  They 
play  a  most  important  part  in  the  economy  of 
nature.  For  on  the  one  hand,  they  inhale  the 
poisonous  gases  constantly  given  off  by  man  and 
beast,  and  on  the  other  they  cool  the  atmosphere 


92 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


and  fill  it  with  the  vapors  that  fall  again  in  the 
fructifying  dew  or  rain. 

There  is  an  almost  countless  variety  of 
leaves,  both  as  to  form  and  color.  The  Sarra- 
cenia,  c.  g.,  of  our  swamps,  and  the  Nepentlics, 
of  East  India,  produce  leaves  that  have  the 
shape  of  a  pitcher.  "An  East  India  pitcher- 
plant,  called  Dischidia  Rafilesiana,  climbs  to  the 
top  of  lofty  trees  and  produces  pitchers  only 
among  the  upper  leaves.  There  it  is  that  the 
plant  sends  out  little  rootlets  which  enter  the 
pitchers  and  derive  nourishment  from  the  rain 
and  dew  which  are  thus  collected." 

The  leaves  of  various  phints  exhibit  a  [)ocu- 
liar  sensitiveness.  Some,  o.  g.,  contract  and 
close  at  dusk;  others,  like  the  Porliera  hygrome- 
trica,  at  the  approach  of  rain.  A  most  remark- 
able leaf  is  that  of  the  plant  called  Venus's  Fly- 
trap, (Dionaea  muscipula),  which  grows  in  our 
marshes.  This  peculiar  plant  has  a  leaf,  each 
side  of  which  is  furnished  with  three  small 
hairs;  the  moment  one  of  these  leaves  is  touched 
by  a  fly  or  insect  lighting  upon  it  the  leaf  closes 
and  entraps  its  victim.  Its  vicious  nature  has 
obtained  for  the  Dionaea  the  name  "carnivorous 
plant."  As  soon  as  the  leaflets  of  the  Mimosa 
pudica,  another  species  of  sensitive  plants,  is 
touched,  they  immediately  shrink  together.  The 
leaves  of  the  Desmodium,  or  Moving  plant,  of 
India,  are  in  constant  motion  both  day  and 
night;  the  leaves  that  lie  opposite  each  other  on 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator    93 

the  stem  alternately  come  together  and  separate 
again. 

Yet  ia  spite  of  the  many  peculiarities  and 
well-nigh  endless  variety  of  leaves,  we  find  that 
they  are  all  governed  by  fixed  laws,  which  reg- 
ulate their  form  as  well  as  their  function.  In- 
tended order  is  discernible  not  only  in  the  in- 
dividual plant,  but  also  in  all  its  parts.  Design 
is  unmistakable,  says  Professor  Asa  Gray,  even 
in  the  position  of  a  plant's  leaves.  Mr.  Gray 
proves  his  assertion  by  a  large  number  of  in- 
stances. And  Professor  Agassiz  calls  attention 
to  a  remarkable  coincidence  between  the  frac- 
tions expressing  leaf  arrangement  and  the  frac- 
tions which  express  the  time  in  which  the  prin- 
cipal planets  encircle  the  sun;  whereupon,  he 
draws  this  reflection:  "Whence  this  strange 
simplicity?  How  can  it  be  accounted  for  except 
by  the  fact  that  the  same  Hand  adjusted  the 
blades  of  grass  which  sets  in  motion  the  orbs 
of  the  universe?" 


C,  The  Flower 


HYMN   TO    THE   FLOWERS 


Day  Stars!     That  ope  your  eyes  with  mom  to  twinkle 
From  rainbow  galaxies  of  earth's  creation, 

And  dewdrops  on  her  lovely  altars  sprinkle 
As  a  libation ! 


94 


Oiir  Palace  Wonderful 


Ye  matin  worshippers!  who,  bending  lowly 

Before  the  uprisen  sun,  God's  lid  less  eye, 
Throw  from  your  chalices  a  sweet  and  holy 


Incense  on  high ! 


'Neath  cloistered  boughs  each  flonil  bell  that  swingeth, 
And  tolls  its  perfume  on  the  passing  air, 

Makes  Sabbath  in  the  fields,  and  ever  ringeth 
A  call  to  prayer  I 

Floral  Apostles!  that  in  dewy  splendor, 

^'Weep  without  woe,  and  blush  without  a  crime," 
Oh,  may  I  deeply  learn,  and  ne'er  surrender, 

Your  lore  sublime! 

"Thou  wert  not,  Solomon,  in  all  thy  glorj', 

Array'd,"  the  lilies  cry,  "in  robes  like  ours; 

How  vain  your  grandeur!  ah,  how  transitory, 
Are  human  flowers!" 

Not  useless  are  ye.  Flowers!  though  made  for  pleasure, 
Blooming  o'er  field  and  wave,  by  day  and  night. 

From  every  source  your  sanction  bids  me  treasure 
Harmless  delight. 

Ephemeral  sages!  what  instructors  hoary 

For  such  a  world  of  thought  could  furnish  scope? 

Each  fading  calyx  a  "memento  mori," 
Yet  fount  of  Hope! 


Posthumous  glories!  angel-like  collection! 

Upraised  from  seed  or  bulb  interr'd  in  earth. 
Ye  are  to  me  a  type  of  Resurrection, 

A  second  birth  I 


CHUYSANTHK-Ml'MS. 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator    95 


Were  I,  0  God !  in  churchless  lands  remaining, 
Far  from  all  voice  of  teachers  or  divines, 

My  soul  would  find  in  Flowers  of  Thy  ordaining. 
Priests,  sermons,  shrines! 

— H.  Smith. 

The  root,  stem  and  leaves  of  a  plant  con- 
stitute its  organs  of  nourishment.  Whether  con- 
sidered by  themselves  or  in  their  relations  to 
one  another,  each  organic  part  of  a  plant  ex- 
hibits intended  order,  or  design.  In  no  one  part 
of  a  plant,  however,  is  design  more  apparent 
than  in  its  flower,  which  Linnaeus  calls  its  nup- 
tial dress.  The  form,  shade,  and  color  of  flow- 
ers border  on  the  infinite.  Every  season,  month, 
week,  year,  yea  every  hour,  seems  to  have  its 
own  peculiar  flowers,  which  succeed  one  an- 
other in  charming  variety.  Each  island  and 
country,  too,  can  boast  its  own  fl^ra.  Some 
flowers  exhibit  regular  diurnal  periods  of  ex- 
pansion and  closing.  "On  this  principle,  the 
great  Linnaeus  constructed  what  he  called  a 
floral  clock,  in  which  each  hour  was  marked  by 
the  opening  of  some  flower." 

When  contemplating  this  achievement,  how 
true  to  nature  the  lines  of  the  poet  appear: 


"In  every  copse  and  sheltered  dell. 
Unveiled  to  the  observant  eye. 
Are  faithful  monitors,  who  tell 

How  pass  the  hours  and  seasons  by. 


96 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


And  in  each  flower  and  simple  bell 

That  in  our  path  betrodden  lie 
Are  sweet  remembrancers,  who  tell 

How  fast  the  winged  moments  fly." 

The  corolla  of  the  flower  is  the  depository 
of  its  colors,  and,  consequently,  is  of  countless 
form,  color  and  tint.  Among  the  more  peculiar 
corollas  we  find  some  having  the  appearance 
of  bees,  spiders,  butterflies,  etc.  Hence,  the 
names  "Oncidium  papillio,"  butterfly-plant, 
"Aceras  authropophora,'*  man-orchis,  "Flor  de 
mosquito,"  mosquito-flower,  etc.  When  viewed 
under  a  microscope  the  petals  forming  the  co- 
rolla are  highly  interesting.  The  petals  usually 
contain  in  their  tiny  little  cells  the  coloring  mat- 
ter of  the  flower.  The  three  primary  colors, — 
red,  yellow  and  blue, — predominate,  and  are 
commonly  present  in  some  part  or  other  of 
every  flower. 

In  the  bright  colors  and  delicate  shades  of 
flowers  we  easily  recognize  the  consummate 
skill  of  the  Divine  Artificer.  "Whether  blended 
or  separated,"  as  Thornton  aptly  remarks,  "the 
colors  of  the  flower  are  evidently  under  the  con- 
trol of  a  taste  which  never  falls  short  of  the 
perfection  of  elegance.  The  Creator  has  added 
to  them  the  charms  of  an  endless  novelty  to 
please  the  eye  and  to  contribute  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  man."  There  is  not  a  flower  "But  shows 
some  touch,  in  freckle,  streak,  or  stain  of  God's 
unrivaled  pencil.' 


»♦ 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator     97 

When  in  quest  of  a  design  to  exhibit  his  or- 
namental skill  the  artist  can  do  no  better  than 
attend  the  school  of  nature.  Forms  more  elegant 
cannot  be  found  anywhere  in  the  universe,  nor 
colors  more  exquisitely  combined.  Mr.  Grabbe 
well  says  that  "the  real  genius  in  the  art  of  de- 
signing does  not  puzzle  his  brain  to  invent 
strange  forms  to  transfer  to  the  fabric  of  the 
loom;  he  studies  nature  on  the  heath,  in  the 
field,  the  hedgerow,  the  garden,  and  the  con- 
servatory, and  endeavors  to  combine  the  natural 
beauties  which  delight  the  eye  and  please  the 
taste." 

"Art  is  the  child  of  Nature :  yes, 

Her  darling  child,  in  whom  we  trace 
The  features  of  the  mother^s  face, 

Her  aspect  and  her  attitude, 
All  her  majestic  loveliness 

Chastened,  and  softened,  and  subdued 
With  a  more  attractive  grace. 

And  with  a  human  sense  imbued. 
He  is  the  greatest  artist  then. 

Whether  of  pencil,  or  of  pen, 
Who  follows  nature.    Never  man, 

As  artist  or  as  artisan. 
Pursuing  his  own  fantasies, 

Can  touch  the  human  heart,  or  please 
Or  satisfy  our  nobler  needs. 

As  he  who  sets  his  willing  feet 

In  Natures  footprints,  light  and  fleet, 

And  follows  where  She  leads." 


The  odors  of  a  flower  bear  a  close  relation 
to  its  colors.    The  odors  as  well  as  the  colors 


98 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


of  a  flower  commonly  reside  in  the  petals  of  the 
corolla.  "They  are  owing  to  volatile  matters, 
which  are  not  easily  detected;  subtile  particles 
of  them  are  diffused  through  the  air  in  a  way 
which  eludes  the  researches  of  man." 

In  contemplating  flowers  the  thoughtful  ob- 
server will  invariably  exclaim  with  Cowper:  It 
is  God  who  inspires 

"Their  balmy  odours  and  imparts  their  hues, 
And  bathes  their  eyes  with  nectar,  and  includes 
In  grains  as  countless  as  the  sea-side  sands 
The  forms  with  which  he  sprinkles  all  the  earth." 


3.  The  Preservation  and  Propagation  of  the 

Species 

Perhaps  nowhere  in  the  vegetable  kingdom 
is  design  more  apparent  than  in  the  production, 
preservation  and  propagation  of  the  species. 

As  soon  as  a  plant  has  reached  maturity  in 
its  various  members  the  function  of  reproduc- 
tion begins.  All  the  various  parts  of  the  or- 
ganism cooperate  in  this  important  work.  Each 
portion  of  the  individual  contributes  its  mite  for 
the  good  of  the  species,  and  shares  in  the  work 
of  reproducing  its  like  or  kind.  The  seed  or 
principle  of  life  of  the  new  plant  is  usually  de- 
veloped within  the  pistil,  and  attached  to  the 
edge  of  the  carpels  surrounding  it. 

It  is  actually  amazing  what  a  large  number 
of  seeds  some  plants  produce:     "The  tobacco 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator    99 


plant,  for  instance,  has  40,000  or  more  seeds  to 
a  stalk;  burdock,  about  60,000  to  a  single  stalk, 
whilst  the  common  red  poppy  has  about  50,000 
seeds."  "In  the  case  of  the  lower  tribes  of  plants, 
as  mushrooms,  puffballs,  etc.,  the  number  of 
seeds  is  almost  incredible.  In  a  single  plant  of 
this  tribe  Fries  ascertained  the  existence  of  ten 
millions  which  were  so  minute  as  to  be  scarcely 

visible." 

At  no  time  during  its  development  is  the  seed 
exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  The 
manner  of  protecting  their  seed  is  quite  distinct 
and  peculiar  to  the  various  kinds  of  plants. 

"In  the  pea  tribe  the  seeds  are  regularly  dis- 
posed in  parchment  pods,  which,  though  soft 
and  membranous,  completely  exclude  the  wet, 
even  in  the  heaviest  rains.  The  pod,  also,  not 
seldom,  as  in  the  bean,  is  lined  with  a  fine  down. 
At  other  times,  as  in  the  senna,  the  pods  con- 
taining the  seeds  are  distended  like  an  inflated 
bladder.  Often  the  seed  is  enveloped  in  wool, 
as  in  the  cotton  plant,  or  lodged,  as  in  pines, 
between  the  hard  and  compact  scales  of  the 
cones.  Again,  we  find  the  seeds  barricaded,  as 
in  the  artichoke  and  thistle,  with  spikes  and 
prickles;  in  the  mushroom  they  are  placed  un- 
der a  penthouse;  in  ferns,  within  slits  in  the 
back  part  of  the  leaf.  Or,  which  is  the  most 
general  organization  of  all,  we  find  the  seeds 
covered  by  strong,  close  tunicles,  and  attached 
to  the  stem  according  to  an  order  appropriated 


100 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


to  each  plant,  as  is  seen  in  the  several  kinds  of 
grains  and  grasses."  Natural  Theology,  Paley, 
p.  231.  In  this  arrangement  a  unity  of  purpose 
and  wise  means  to  attain  the  same  cannot  escape 
the  intelHgent  observer.  "Nothing  can  be  moro 
single  than  this  purpose,  nor  anything  more  di- 
versified than  the  means  employed  to  attain  it. 
The  purpose  is  the  preservation  of  the  seed; 
the  means  employed  to  attain  this  end  are  pelli- 
cals,  pods,  pulps,  husks,  skin,  scales  armed  with 
thorns,  and  a  variety  of  hulls,  shells,  etc."— Ibid. 

After  a  plant  has  successfully  brought  its 
seed  to  maturity,  its  next  care  is  to  propagate 
the  same.  To  jjring  about  the  propagation  of 
the  seed,  nature  avails  itself  of  various  agencies. 
The  wind,  the  elasticity,  or  irritability  of  the 
plant  itself,  and  insects  are  the  usual  means  of 
distributing  the  seed  or  pollen.  Bees  do  much 
in  fructifying  plants  by  unwittingly  distributing 
the  pollen  on  their  pilfering  expeditions  after 
food  for  their  young.  In  each  case  the  pollen, 
or  fine  seed,  must  be  brought  into  connection 
with  the  pistil,  else  there  will  be  no  fertiliza- 
tion. "In  the  case  of  hazel,  willows,  etc.,  the 
stamen-bearing  and  pistil-bearing  flowers  are 
on  different  parts  of  the  same  tree  or  plant." 
In  such  cases  fertilization  is  commonly  brought 
about  bv  the  wind. 

"In  Vallisneria  spiralis,  an  aquatic  plant, 
which  grows  in  the  mud  of  ditches  in  Southern 
Europe,  the  flower  of  the  stamen-bearing  plant 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  101 


at  a  certain  period  detaches  itself  and  rises  to 
the  surface  of  the  water,  where  it  floats  and 
ripens  its  pollen.  Soon  after  this,  the  pistil- 
bearing  plant,  which  still  remains  growing  in 
the  mud,  sends  up  a  long  spiral  stalk,  which 
bears  the  flower  to  the  surface  where  it  expands. 
The  pollen  is  then  wafted  on  it,  by  the  wind, 
and  the  seed  is  perfected,  and  finally  deposited 

in  the  mud." 

Some  species  of  fungi,  for  instance  Asco- 
bulus,  are  propagated  by  means  of  tiny  spores. 
I  examined  a  specimen  of  fungus,  which  grows 
on  cow-dung,  under  a  powerful  microscope. 
After  coating  the  fungus  with  iodine,  hundreds 
of  little  spores  became  visible  nicely  imbedded 
in  rows  of  eight  seeds.  When  sufficiently  de- 
veloped these  minute  cells,  or  seeds,  are  scat- 
tered in  every  direction  by  the  bursting  pods. 
By  the  contraction  and  sudden  expansion  of  the 
tiny  fibres,  which  contained  them,  the  seeds  are 
thrown  a  distance  of  nine  centimetres.  What 
a  tremendous  energy  is  here  revealed  by  these 
insignificant  little  fungi.  Were  the  muscles  in 
man's  limbs  proportionately  strong  and  elastic, 
it  is  said  that  he  could  easily  leap  a  distance  of 

one  mile. 

The  process  of  propagation  everywhere  ob- 
servable in  the  vegetable  kingdom  is  a  patent 
contradiction  to  the  theory  of  the  "survival  of 
the  fittest."  Every  species  of  plant,  yea,  each 
organ  or  part  of  the  fully  developed  member  of 


102 


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a  species,  seems  to  be  solely  occupied  in  prop- 
agating its  kind.  Were  there  a  tendency  in 
the  vegetable  world  to  diminish  the  number  of 
individuals  "to  the  fittest,"  the  lavish  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  seed  everywhere  dis- 
cernible could  not  be  explained. 

And  let  him  who  denies  the  existence  of  an 
intended  order,  or  design,  which  governs  the 
entire  vegetable  kingdom,  explain  why  it  is  that 
the  same  kind  of  seed  always  produces  the 
same  kind  of  plant,  tree,  or  flower.  An  acorn 
will  never  produce  a  cherry  tree.  Growing 
side  by  side  an  oak,  elm,  beech,  peach  tree, 
rose  bush,  etc.,  will  each  assimilate  those  par- 
ticular elements  from  the  soil  and  atmosphere 
which  are  adapted  to  its  own  peculiar  nature. 
A  pine  will  remain  a  pine  tree,  and  the  rose 
will  never  become  a  lily.  What  is  the  cause 
of  this  wonderful  selection  and  assimilation  of 
mineral  substances  observable  throughout  the 
world  of  vegetable  life? 

Were  a  person  to  find  a  beautifully  trimmed 
lady's  hat  lying  on  a  lawn,  the  thought  would 
never  occur  to  him,  provided  he  be  of  sane 
mind,  that  the  elements  of  the  hat  were  jostled 
together  by  chance  and  thus  obtained  the  par- 
ticular form  and  appearance  which  they  now 
have.  Or  that  it  may,  perchance,  have  grown 
out  of  the  ground !  Would  not  every  intelligent 
person  think  that  the  hat  was  made  and 
trimmed  by  a   human  being?     Likewise  will 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  103 


every  one,  who  has  a  sane  mind,  when  observ- 
ing the  natural  flowers,  or  fruits,  of  which  those 
on  the  hat  are  but  a  poor  imitation,  conclude 
that  they  have  been  made,  or  created,  by  a 
Divine  Being.  Both  works  suppose  some  one 
who  designed  and  made  them. 

No  matter  what  aspect  we  take  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom,  whether  we  view  it  in  detail  or 
in  its  entirety,  we  can  easily  discern  a  wise  and 
well-ordered  design.  The  conclusion,  then, 
forces  itself  upon  us  that  the  herbs,  plants, 
trees,  and  flowers  were  created.  That  every 
genus  and  species  of  the  vegetable  kingdom 
was  created  by  an  All-wise  and  Benevolent 
Creator  is  a  truth  that  no  sane  man  can  deny. 

"Yea!    Nature  is  God's  shadow,  and  how  bright 
Must  that  face  be  which  such  a  shadow  casts? 
We  walk  within  it,  for  "we  live  and  move 
And  have  our  being'*  in  His  everywhere. 
The  tiniest  grain  of  sand  on  ocean's  shore 
Entemples  Him;  the  fragrance  of  the  rose 
Folds  him  around  as  blessed  incense  folds 
The  altars  of  His  Christ :  yet  some  will  walk 
Along  the  temple's  wondrous  vestibule 
And  look  on  it  and  admire— yet  enter  not 
To  find  within  the  Presence,  and  the  Light 
Which  sheds  its  rays  on  all  that  is  without." 
"The  Seen  and  the  Vnseen."— Father  Ryan. 

A  lecture  held  by  Professor  John  H.  Schafl*- 
ner,  A.  M.,  M.  S.,  in  1914,  on  "The  Contribution 
to  a  Knowledge  of  God  from  a  Study  of  the 
Plants"  proves  the  formal  order  observable  in 


104 


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the  vegetable  kingdom  beyond  all  doubt.  The 
lecture  never  appeared  in  print,  but  the  author 
kindly  sent  me  an  extract,  parts  of  which  I  here 
quote : 

"The  plant  kingdom  represents  a  remarka- 
ble and  orderly  progression  from  the  lowest 
forms  to  the  highest." 

"From  the  standpoint  of  the  plant  this  pro- 
gression has  been  such  that  at  the  end  we  have 
plants  that  can  take  possession  of  the  earth. 
These  plants  are  preeminently  the  food  plants 
of  the  world.  Plants  produce  all  the  food  in 
the  world." 

"After  the  development  of  our  modern  plants 
in  the  cretaceous  period  there  appeared  in  great 
numbers  birds,  mammals,  and  man, — the  final 
creation.  .  .  .  Thus  the  plant  kingdom  cul- 
minated in  a  form  that  was  successful  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  higher  animal  and  man." 

"There  are  just  two  modes  of  thought,"  con- 
tinues the  learned  Professor  of  Botany,  "in  re- 
spect to  the  universe.  The  theistic  and  the  an- 
archistic. A  man  must  either  believe  that  the 
things  he  apprehends  are  from  God,  or  that 
everything  is  anarchistic.  If  the  latter,  then 
our  political  anarchists  have  the  true  views  of 
life  and  existence." 

"Materialism  is,  likewise,  unsound,  since,  if 
it  admits  a  deity  at  all,  it  postulates  a  multitude 
of  gods,  instead  of  one  God.  But  we  could  only 
believe  in  a  multitude  of  gods  if  the  world  were 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  105 

found  to  be  anarchistic.  Otherwise  there  would 
still  have  to  be  a  higher  power  to  have  all  the 
theoretical  atoms  work  in  harmony." 

"Therefore,  the  theistic  conception  is  the 
only  reasonable  basis  of  belief  for  a  normal, 
intelligent  mind.  But  this  belief  could  not  be 
monistic.  Man  is  a  self-conscious  personality, 
and  his  Creator  must  have  the  same  attributes." 

"The  definite  progress  of  development  of 
plants,  the  order  and  principle,  the  wonderful 
system  of  plant  relationship,  lead  but  to  one 
inevitable  conclusion, — cause,  effect,  principle, 
law,  God.  To  see  this  relation  one  must  study 
plants  in  a  thorough  way.  .  .  .  And  he  who 
does  this  will  be  far  away  from  the  raving  of 
some  inferior  or  ignorant  mind  that  conceives 
a  tissue  of  falsehood  and  presents  it  to  us  in 
the  name  of  science  or  philosophy.  .  .  .  Plants, 
moreover,  do  not  allow  us  to  take  a  purely 
utilitarian  view  of  creation  or  the  Creator.  God 
has  a  thousand  purposes  that  we  have  never 
discovered." 

"There  is  a  'oneness'  in  the  universe  in  gen- 
eral and  in  the  kingdom  of  plants.  A  cosmos, 
and  not  a  chaos,  as  an  anarchistic  materialistic 
philosophy  implies.  This  harmonious  kingdom 
of  living  plants  is  what  I  can  see  after  twenty- 
five  years  of  study." — (Extracts  from  a  letter, 
dated  April  15,  1914,  to  the  author.) 

The  duration  of  a  plant's  life  is  a  subject  of 
no  less  interest  than  its  development  and  prop- 


106 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  107 


agation.  Some  plants  wither  and  die  after 
they  have  flowered  and  borne  fruit  for  the  first 
time.  The  life  period  of  plants  ranges  from  a 
few  days  to  many  years,  and  even  centuries. 
Among  the  species  of  larger  plants,  or  trees, 
there  are  not  a  few  that  live  to  be  many  hun- 
dreds of  years  old.  Thus  the  elm  tree,  under 
favorable  circumstances,  attains  an  age  of  over 
three  hundred  years,  the  chestnut  (castanea 
vesca)  about  six  hundred  years,  and  the  oak 
over  one  thousand  years.  Among  the  more 
common  trees  the  lime,  or  linden,  is  one  of  the 
longest  lived.  "At  Daundorf,  near  Baireulh, 
is  a  linden  tree  whose  age  is  given  as  more 
than  twelve  centuries.  On  a  map,  dated  1390, 
it  is  mentioned  as  a  'very  old  tree,  twenty-four 
yards  in  circumference.'  There  is  a  yew  tree 
(Salisburiana  adiantrafolia)  of  immense  size 
near  KueChon  in  southeastern  Shantung, 
China,  which  is  said  to  be  about  four  thousand 
years  old.  Tradition  says  that  Confucius,  the 
great  Chinese  philosopher  who  lived  about  four 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  was  wont  to  rest 
in  its  shade."*  It  is  not  unusual  for  the  Taxo- 
dium  distichum  and  the  Boabad  (Adansonia 
digitata)  to  live  from  three  thousand  to  five 
thousand  years.  "It  has  been  supposed  that 
certain  trees  now  existing  on  the  earth  may 
have  been  coeval  with  the  creation  of  man." 
Those  trees  which  live  longest  commonly  at- 

•  "Scientific  American."— VIII-3-'0l. 


tain,  also,  the  greatest  dimensions  of  their 
species  or  kind.  Some  of  the  stately  pines  in 
Mariposa  Grove,  California,  are  over  three  hun- 
dred feet  high,  and  have  more  than  three  hun- 
dred concentric  circles,  and  a  circumference  of 
over  ninety  feet.  "One  of  these  gigantic  mon- 
archs  of  the  forest  primeval  has  been  named 
•General  Grant,'  and  is  conceded  to  be  one  of 
the  largest  trees  in  the  world.  It  is  thirty-four 
and  one-half  feet  in  diameter  at  its  base,  and 
rivals  the  eucalypti  of  Australia  in  height." 
"The  largest  tree  in  the  world  is  supposed  to  be 
one  standing  on  the  Government  Reserve  in 
Central  California;  it  measures  fifty  feet  in 
diameter,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  and 
eight  inches  in  circumference  six  feet  from  the 
ground." 

4.  The   Constituent   Simplicity   and   Amazing 
Variety  of  the  Vegetable  Kingdom 

Again,  what  an  infinite  number  of  combina- 
tions do  we  not  find,  at  the  very  outset,  of  the 
comparatively  few  elements  which  constitute 
the  material  portion  of  plant  life!  What  an 
artistic  combination  and  structure  of  cells!  Not 
more  than  twenty  of  the  seventy-five  or  more 
known  elements  are  to  be  found  among  the 
ingredients  of  the  almost  countless  variety  of 
flowers,  herbs  and  trees.  Scarcely  anywhere 
in  nature  is  a  greater  multiplicity  in  simplicity 
discernible    than    in    the    vegetable    kingdom. 


108 


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Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  109 


Whether  the  chemist  examine  the  tiny  lichen, 
or  a  portion  of  a  giant  Wellingtonia,  a  tree  that 
sometimes  grows  to  be  ninety  feet  in  circum- 
ference, whether  the  modest  little  violet  by  the 
wayside,  or  the  Rafflesia  of  Sumatra,  whose 
flower  has  obtained  the  astonishing  size  of  nine 
feet  in  diameter,  he  will  not  discover  more  than 
about  fifteen  elements.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  the 
small  number  of  elements  constituting  the  vege- 
table kingdom,  botanists  tell  us  that  "there  are 
about  140,000  known  species  of  plants  on  the 
earth."  Whether  we  examine  the  tiniest  flower, 
moreover,  or  a  gigantic  tree,  we  find  that  in  each 
case  the  organic  structure  is  such  as  makes  it 
superior  to  the  most  exquisite  works  of  human 
skill. 

5.  The  Use  and  Misuse  of  Plants 

A.  The  Use  of  Plants 

Every  species,  as  well  as  every  individual 
member  of  each  species,  of  the  vegetable  world 
has  a  place  and  purpose  in  the  economy  of 
nature.  The  end  and  object  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom  is,  of  course,  to  raise  men's  minds  and 
hearts  in  humble  reverence  to  their  sovereign 
King: 

"On  every  herb  o'er  which  we  tread 
Are  written  words  which,  rightly  read, 
Will  lead  us  from  earth's  fragrant  sod, 
To  hope,  and  holiness,  and  God." 

•^Allan  Cunningham. 


Aside  from  this  purpose  the  well-nigh  in- 
finite variety  of  plants,  shrubs,  trees  and  flowers 
are  created  for  man's  use  and  comfort.  And  it 
is,  indeed,  amazing  to  learn  the  many  uses  to 
which  one  and  the  same  species  are  often  put. 
Humboldt  tells  us  that  "certain  species  of  palm 
yield  wine,  oil,  wax,  flour,  sugar,  thread,  uten- 
sils, weapons,  food  and  habitations."  And  ac- 
cording to  Kidder  and  Fletcher,  in  their  "History 
of  Brazil,"  the  palm  of  that  country  "furnishes 
the  Amazonian  Indians  with  almost  every  ne- 
cessity of  life  except  flesh."  Owing  to  their  stately 
beauty,  as  well  as  their  varied  usefulness,  Linne 
calls  the  palm  "the  prince  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom." 

Mr.  Balfour  tells  us  that  the  cocoanut  palm 
of  the  Pacific  Islands  furnishes  the  natives 
"food,  drink,  clothing,  building  material,  kitch- 
en utensils,  mats,  cordage,  oil  and  fish  lines."* 
The  cereals  of  the  Temperate  Zones  are  per- 
haps the  most  useful  to  the  human  family.  We 
can  hardly  conceive  it  possible  to  get  along 
without  the  more  common  ones.  How  sadly, 
for  example,  would  we  not  miss  Indian  corn. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  annual  crop  of  this 
cereal  alone  here  in  the  United  States  "amounts 
to  two  billion  dollars."t  The  whole  plant  is 
used,  and  is  said  to  yield  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  products.    Moreover,  every  climate,  as 

•"Botany  and  Religion,"  p.  14. 
fAmerlca,"  No,  26,  X-9.'09. 


110 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


well-nigh  every  country,  possesses  plants  which 
grow  nowhere  else.  The  cold  north  as  well  as  the 
sunny  south,  the  lofty  peaks  as  well  as  the  val- 
ley, the  deep  sea  and  the  stagnant  pool  or 
meandering  brook,  has  each  its  peculiar  vege- 
tation. No  plant  is  an  absolute  cosmopolite. 
"Everywhere,"  writes  Humboldt,  "man  finds 
some  plants  to  minister  to  his  support  and  en- 
joyment." A  large  number  are  solely  for  man's 
enjoyment : 

God  might  have  bade  the  earth  bring  forth 

Enough  for  great  and  small, 
The  oak  tree  and  the  cedar  tree, 

Without  a  flower  at  all. 
We  might  have  had  enough,  enough 

For  every  want  of  ours. 
For  luxury,  medicine,  and  toil. 

And  yet  have  had  no  flowers. 

The  one  within  the  mountain  mine 

Requireth  none  to  grow; 
Nor  doth  it  need  the  lotus  flower 

To  make  the  river  flow. 
The  clouds  might  give  abundant  rain, 

The  nightly  dews  might  fall, 
And  the  herb  that  keepeth  life  in  man 

Might  yet  have  dnmk  them  all. 


Then  wherefore,  wherefore  were  they  made, 

All  dyed  with  rainbow  light, 
All  fashioned  with  supremest  grace, 

Upspringing  day  and  night:— 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  111 


o 


o 


Springing  in  valleys  green  and  low, 

And  on  the  mountains  high, 
And  in  the  silent  wilderness 

Where  no  man  passes  byt 

Our  outward  life  requires  them  not- 
Then  wherefore  had  they  birth! 

To  minister  delight  to  man, 
To  beautify  the  earth ; 

To  comfort  man,  to  whisper  hope, 
Whenever  his  faith  is  dim; 

For  Whoso  careth  for  the  flowers 
Will  much  more  care  for  him! 

—Mary  JSowitt, 

Henry  Grady,  the  once  noted  editor  and 
orator  of  the  South,  paid  the  following  eloquent 
tribute  to  cotton:  "Cotton!  What  a  word  to 
conjure  with  to  us  who  are  from  the  South. 
What  a  royal  plant  it  is!  The  world  waits  in 
attendance  on  its  growth.  The  shower  that  falls 
whispering  on  its  leaves  is  heard  around  the 
earth.  The  sun  that  shines  upon  it  is  tempered 
by  the  prayers  of  all  people.  The  frost  that 
chills  it,  and  the  dew  that  descends  from  the 
stars  are  noted,  and  the  trespass  of  a  little  worm 
on  its  green  leaf  is  more  to  England  than  the 
advance  of  the  Russian  army  on  her  Asian  out- 
posts. It  is  gold  from  the  instant  it  puts  forth 
its  tiny  shoot.  Its  fiber  is  current  in  every  bank; 
and  when  loosing  its  fleece  to  the  sun  it  floats  a 
sunny  banner  that  glorifies  the  field  of  the 
humble  farmer;  it  is  marshaled  under  a  flag 
that  will  compel  the  allegiance  of  the  world  and 


II 


i^^i 


O 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  111 


Springing  in  valleys  green  and  low, 

And  on  the  mountains  high, 
And  in  the  silent  wilderness 

Where  no  man  passes  byT 

Our  outward  life  requires  them  not- 
Then  wherefore  had  they  birth? 

To  minister  delight  to  man. 
To  beautify  the  earth ; 

To  comfort  man,  to  whisper  hope, 
Whene'er  his  faith  is  dim; 

For  Whoso  careth  for  the  flowers 
Will  much  more  care  for  him! 

— Mary  Howitt, 

Henry  Grady,  the  once  noted  editor  and 
orator  of  the  South,  paid  the  following  eloquent 
tribute  to  cotton:  "Cotton!  What  a  word  to 
conjure  with  to  us  who  are  from  the  South. 
What  a  royal  plant  it  is!  The  world  waits  in 
attendance  on  its  growth.  The  shower  that  falls 
whispering  on  its  leaves  is  heard  around  the 
earth.  The  sun  that  shines  upon  it  is  tempered 
by  the  prayers  of  all  people.  The  frost  that 
chills  it,  and  the  dew  that  descends  from  the 
stars  are  noted,  and  the  trespass  of  a  little  worm 
on  its  green  leaf  is  more  to  England  than  the 
advance  of  the  Russian  army  on  her  Asian  out- 
posts. It  is  gold  from  the  instant  it  puts  forth 
its  tiny  shoot.  Its  fiber  is  current  in  every  bank; 
and  when  loosing  its  fleece  to  the  sun  it  floats  a 
sunny  banner  that  glorifies  the  field  of  the 
humble  fanner;  it  is  marshaled  under  a  flag 
that  will  compel  the  allegiance  of  the  world  and 


112 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  113 


wring  a  subsidy  from  every  nation  of  the  earth. 
It  is  the  heritage  that  God  gave  to  this  people 
forever  as  their  own  when  He  arched  our  skies, 
established  our  mountains,  girt  us  about  with 
the  ocean,  loosed  the  breezes,  tempered  the 
sunshine  and  measured  the  rain.  Ours  and  our 
children's  forever.  As  princely  a  talent  as  ever 
came  from  His  hand  to  mortal  stewardship."* 

B.  Misuse  of  Plant  Life  and  Forest  Conservation 

Since  the  manifold  kinds  of  plants  have  been 
created  to  serve  a  certain  purpose,  it  is  man's 
duty  to  prevent,  as  far  as  he  is  able,  this  pur- 
pose from  being  frustrated.  When  the  use  for 
which  the  Creator  has  intended  the  various 
species  of  plants  is  wilfully  and  maliciously 
made  impossible,  he  who  does  this  is  guilty  of 
an  abuse,  and  also  a  wrong  against  the  Creator. 
Among  uncivilized  nations  we  frequently  find 
various  idolatrous  notions  and  practices  con- 
nected with  plant  life.  To  the  untutored  or  ir- 
religious mind  the  dense  forest  and  impenetra- 
ble thicket  has  ever  been  the  abode  of  the 
powers  of  darkness. 

In  Annam,  for  example,  the  poor  deluded 
native  looks  upon  trees  as  the  abiding  places  of 
spirits,  and  pays  them  reverence.  "The  religious 
trees  are  usually  of  luxuriant  foliage.  There, 
says  a  popular  tradition,  reside  female  spirits, 
the  bon  Tinh,  or  souls  of  young  girls  who  died 

♦  "The  Miner's  Magazine." — May   1,  1913. 


before  marriage.  Woe  to  the  young  man  who 
passes  too  near  such  a  tree.  The  bon  Tinh  will 
endeavor  to  seize  his  soul,  that  dying,  he  may 
espouse  her  in  the  future  life."* 

"A  gigantic  fern  of  the  Annam  forests  grows 
to  an  immense  height  and  spreads  out  its  leaves 
like  an  enormous  umbrella.  On  account  of  its 
remarkable  form,  it  is  considered  the  abode  of 
a  spirit,  and  is  called  the  hop  ma  (demon's 
shade).  When  the  natives  come  upon  this 
mighty  plant  they  respectfully  turn  away  their 
gaze,  believing  that  few  can  look  upon  it  with- 
out incurring  the  demon's  wrath.  The  bark  and 
leaves  of  certain  trees  are  used  for  the  purposes 
of  magic  in  Annam.  Trees  are  venerated  by 
these  people  on  account  of  some  natural  beauty 
such  as  great  height,  abundant  foliage,  age,  or 
peculiarity  of  form." 

A  western  lumberman  was  asked  some  years 
ago  the  secret  of  his  great  financial  success.  "I 
frankly  admit  that  I  became  rich  by  robbing 
children  still  unborn."  The  man  meant  ex- 
actly what  he  said.  For  many  years  he  had 
been  preying  on  future  generations.  The  com- 
pany, of  which  he  was  the  acknowledged  head, 
had  made  it  a  practice  to  level  forests  without 
any  provision  for  future  growth.  Their  sole  ob- 
ject was  present  gain.  "To  steal  from  living 
grown-up  people,  nowadays,  is  not  an  easy  task," 
this  man  pursued,  "but  I  find  it  quite  simple  to 

•  "Catholic  Missions."— Vol.  VI,  4,  82,  Rev.  L.  Cadlere,  P.  F.  M. 


m 


114 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


steal  from  infants  not  yet  born."  Thanks  for 
your  frankness!  Yet,  to  strip  timber  from  our 
mountain  sides  and  plains,  without  leaving 
seeds  and  saplings  for  the  coming  years,  is  par- 
amount to  stealing  from  future  generations. 
Aside  from  the  detrimental  effects  it  has  on  the 
climate  such  a  practice  will  reduce  the  rain- 
fall of  a  district,  fill  up  its  rivers  and  creeks 
with  the  soil  of  their  banks,  and  ultimately  re- 
tard, if  not  destroy,  vegetation.  The  Austrian 
law  which  obliges  him  who  fells  a  tree  to  plant 
another  within  a  year  is  a  wise  provision. 
Moreover,  it  were  well  if  we  had  forest  inspec- 
tors who  would,  in  some  way,  prevent  the 
wholesale  leveling  of  our  forests.  It  would  be 
well  worth  the  while  to  mark  those  trees  which 
may  be  cut  down  without  detriment  to  a  for- 
est, and  to  make  it  illegal  to  fell  the  others  with- 
out a  special  permit. 

It  is  a  healthful  sign  pointing  to  continued 
material  prosperity  that  forest  conservation  is 
becoming  a  vital  issue  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land.  "A  very  few  years  ago 
forest  conservation  was  little  more  than  a 
phrase;  today  it  is  a  vital  issue  in  our  national 
development,"  says  Treadwell  Cleveland,  Jr., 
in  a  circular  which  has  been  issued  by  the 
United  States  Forest  Service,  from  which  I  here 
quote:  "In  connection  with  the  general  plan 
to  conserve  all  natural  resources,  the  circular  is 
the  most  important  and  far-reaching  economic 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  115 


policy    ever    adopted    and    pursued    by    any 
nation." 

"The  forest  is  one  of  the  chief  supports  of 
the  whole  material  fabric  of  civilization.  The 
forest  means  not  only  a  permanent  supply  of 
wood  and  the  life  of  all  the  industries  which 
depend  upon  it,  but  also  the  control  of  the 
waters  for  human  use.  There  is  only  barren- 
ness in  the  future  of  the  nation  which  has  lost 
the  use  of  wood  and  the  control  of  water." 

"The  sort  of  use  that  was  made  of  natural 
resources  during  the  pioneering  stage,  while 
right  enough  at  the  time,  is  far  too  wasteful  to 
be  carried  on  into  the  new  industrial  era.  In 
order  to  know  how  to  use  a  thing,  however,  it 
is  necessary  first  to  find  out  how  much  of  it 
there  is  to  use,  and  taking  stock  of  our  forest 
resources  has  led  to  startling  results." 

"It  has  shown  that  we  are  still  destroying 
the  forest  as  we  use  it;  that  we  are  taking  from 
it  every  year  three  and  a  half  times  as  much 
wood  as  is  added  by  the  new  growth.  It  has 
shown  that  less  than  one-third  of  the  growing 
trees  felled  by  the  lumbermen  is  ever  used  at 
all,  so  that  two-thirds  of  all  the  timber  cut  is 
simply  destroyed.  It  has  shown  that  one- 
eleventh  of  all  the  forests  are  swept  by  fires 
every  year,  and  that  on  the  average  since  1870 
forest  fires  have  yearly  cost  $50,000,000  in  tim- 
ber, and  fifty  lives.  It  has  shown  that  over 
ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  forests  in  private 


r 


n\ 


116 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator   117 


hands  is  thus  devastated  by  destructive  use  and 
the  scourge  of  unchecked  fires,  whilst  less  than 
one  per  cent  is  properly  handled  for  successive 
crops,  or  effectively  protected  from  fire. 
The    forest    as    a    resource    is    rapidly    being 

obliterated." 

"But  the  inventory  of  the  forests  has  had  yet 
other  ugly  facts  to  reveal.  With  the  disap- 
pearance and  deterioration  of  the  mountain 
forests  the  nation  is  losing  control  of  the 
streams,  which  are  useful  in  our  civilization  in 
ways  and  degrees  unparalleled  by  any  other 
resource.  Pure  water  for  domestic  purposes  is, 
of  course,  indispensable;  usable  water  at  the 
right  seasons  is  the  sole  reliance  of  the  great 
projects  by  which  the  arid  lands  are  vivified  by 
irrigation;  cheap  water  transportation  is  a  mat- 
ter of  dollars  and  cents  to  every  citizen;  trust- 
worthy power  streams  are  the  key  to  the  age  of 
electricity,  at  the  gates  of  which  modern  in- 
dustry is  standing.  Yet  the  guardian  of  the 
waters  is  steadily  compelled  to  retreat  before 
the  axe  and  fire." 

The  late  floods,  too,  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
along  the  Mississippi  River,  ought  to  be  a  lesson 
for  legislators  in  Forest  Conservation. 

"It  is  not  use  that  destroys  the  forests,  but 
waste.  Not  use  as  such  but  destructive  use, 
combined  with  inexcusable  neglect,  is  causing 
the  forests  to  dwindle  under  our  progressive 
demands  upon  them.    The  problem,  therefore, 


is  not  to  be  solved  by  disuse,  but  by  wise  use 
and  protection.  These  together  will  so  stimulate 
forest  growth  that  the  needed  wood  may  be 
harvested  without  depleting  the  stock  on  hand, 
and  will  keep  intact  the  protective  cover  at  the 
stream  sources." 

Several  European  countries  teach  the  world 
a  lesson  of  political  economy  with  regard  to 
forest  conservation.  For  instance,  "the  com- 
munity of  Orsa,  in  Sweden,  has  in  the  course  of 
a  generation  sold  $4,600,000  worth  of  trees;  and 
by  means  of  judicious  replanting  has  provided 
for  a  similar  income  every  thirty  or  forty  years. 
In  consequence  of  this  commercial  wealth  there 
are  no  taxes.  Railways,  telephones,  etc.,  are 
free,  and  so  are  school  houses,  teaching,  and 
many  other  things."  Thus,  this  modern  Utopia 
owes  its  flourishing  condition  largely  to  the 
vegetable  kingdom. 

Whatever  tends  to  develop  and  conserve  our 
forests  ought  to  receive  the  hearty  support  of 
every  American  citizen.  A  work  deserving  of 
the  highest  commendation  is  that  of  the  Office 
of  Forest  Patholog^^  "The  United  States  Office 
of  Forest  Patholog\^  deserves  great  praise  for 
its  excellent  work  in  forest  conservation," 
writes  the  Toledo  Blade  in  an  editorial,  Sept. 
10,  1913.  "In  the  bureau  known  as  the  Office 
of' Forest  Pathology  the  government  maintains 
an  institution  which  is  doing  work  which  will 
entitle  it  to  the  gratitude  of  generations  unborn. 


151 

m 


118 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


It  is  the  special  duty  of  this  office  to  study  the 
diseases  of  trees  and  find  how  they  may  be  con- 
trolled or  altogether  eliminated." 

"A  few  years  ago,  a  blight  appeared  among 
chestnut  trees  which  threatened  to  render  this 
species  extinct  on  the  American  continent.  The 
office  of  Forest  Pathology  has  found  the  way 
by  which  the  blight  can  be  quarantined  and 
kept  within  the  district  now  affected  until  it  is 
destroyed.  Another  disease,  the  white  pine 
blister  rust,  was  imported  from  Europe  and 
found  its  way  into|  the  nurseries  of  six 
states.  The  government  agents  are  tracing  the 
plants  that  were  sold  and,  wherever  they  find 
them,  are  seeing  that  they  are  destroyed,  to  the 
end  that  the  disease  may  be  completely  con- 
quered. Young  cone-bearing  trees,  under  arti- 
ficial conditions,  have  had  an  inexplicable  way 
of  bending  over  and  dying.  The  pathologists 
learned  that  this  could  be  overcome  by  a  simple 
treatment  of  the  soil."  Thanks  to  such  endeavor, 
forest  conservation  is  no  longer  a  theory  or  a 
mere  doctrine.    It  is  a  policy  in  force. 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  119 


C.  Coal 

The  relation  which  the  vegetable  kingdom 
bears  to  coal  is  a  most  intimate  one.  Vegetable 
life,  in  all  its  various  forms,  assimilates  the 
gases  of  the  surrounding  air  and  the  mineral 
substances  of  the  soil.  The  individual  plant, 
like  a  skilled  chemist,  draws  what  is  congenial 


to  it  under  its  influence,  and  mixes  it  into  a  sap, 
from  which  it  forms  its  stem,  leaf,  bud  and 
fruit.  Its  one  endeavor  is  to  reach  the  perfec- 
tion of  its  kind  or  species.  Even  though  its 
longevity  be  thousands  of  years,  sooner  or  later 
it  must  succumb  to  the  inevitable  and  die. 

At  death,  however,  the  plant,  herb  and  tree 
bequeath  their  accumulated  treasure  to  the  min- 
eral kingdom,  which,  under  favorable  condi- 
tions, converts  the  inheritance  into  coal.  Thus 
any  kind  of  wood  can  become  wood-coal  by 
parting  with  its  oxygen  in  the  form  of  carbonic 
acid  gas,  or  choke-damp;  if,  in  addition,  it  also 
loses  its  hydrogen,  it  becomes  common  or  bitu- 
minous coal;  and  "the  more  hydrogen  it  gives 
off",  the  nearer  it  approaches  to  the  state  of 
anthracite,  or  hard  coal.  Further,  if  anthracite 
coal  loses  all  save  its  last  atoms  of  O.  H.  and 
N.  we  have  graphite  (blacklead).  Having  once 
attained  this  state  it  needs  only  perfect  purifi- 
cation and  crystallization  to  become  a  diamond." 
The  coal  we  use  is,  therefore,  a  middle  term  of 
a  series  of  transformations  between  live  wood 
and  the  diamond.  Judging  from  the  steadily 
increasing  price  of  coal  it  would  seem  that  this 
transformation  of  coal  into  diamond  is  pro- 
gressing rapidly,  at  least  in  the  minds  of  some 
of  our  coal  barons. 

But  how  is  the  distribution,  or  deposition,  of 
coal  explained?  In  all  probability  the  greater 
portion  of  the  coal  now  in  existence  has  been 


liri 


120 


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formed  out  of  the  vegetation  which  once  grew 
where  the  coal  is  now  found.  This  explanation 
is  called  "the  formation  process."  The  best 
evidence  that  coal  has  been  formed  out  of  grow- 
ing vegetation  where  it  lies  buried  is  the  "fact 
that  very  often  one  coal-seam  is  found  below 
the  other  for  many  hundreds  of  feet  beneath 
the  earth's  surface,  and  each  seam  has  its 
under-bed  of  clay."  One  forest  of  growing  vege- 
tation, therefore,  must  have  been  sunk  by  an 
earthquake,  or  some  other  violent  shock,  and 
buried,  before  another  forest  could  grow  and 
furnish  material  for  the  next  seam  of  coal.  In 
one  of  the  mines  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  there 
are  over  thirty  strata  of  coal,  each  having  its 
under-seam  of  clay.  This  means  nothing  else 
than  thirty  earthquakes,  or  subsidences  of  land 
with  their  forests,  or  peat-moss. 

Such  subsidences  are  not  infrequent  even  in 
our  time.  "In  the  year  1819,  in  India,"  accord- 
ing to  Sir  C.  Lyell,  "a  single  earthquake  sunk  a 
tract  of  land  larger  than  Lake  Geneva  to  a 
depth  of  eighteen  feet  and  converted  it  into  an 
inland  sea.  The  same  shock  raised  a  corres- 
ponding stretch  of  land,  a  few  miles  off,  ten  feet 
above  the  alluvial  plain." 

A  similar  phenomenon  occurred  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi Valley  during  the  earthquake  of  1811 
in  what  is  called  the  "Sunk  Country."  Such 
shocks  were  undoubtedly  more  frequent  in  an- 
cient times  when  vegetation  was  likewise  far 
more  exuberant  than  now. 


Vegelablc  World  Postulates  a  Creator  121 


Another  explanation  for  the  distribution  of 
coal-beds  is  that  the  forests  which  provided 
them  with  the  necessary  material  were  depos- 
ited by  rivers  which  carried  the  same  into  their 
deltas.  This  theory,  however,  supposes  an  im- 
mense period  of  time,  as  well  as  great  changes 
in  the  earth's  surface. 

According  to  quite  a  number  of  scientists  the 
formation  and  distribution  of  coal  are  explained 
in  this  manner:  In  former  ages  when  forests 
grew  more  rapidly  than  now,  vegetation  was 
most  exuberant  along  the  banks  of  seas  and 
lakes;  and  when  this  vegetation  grew  out  into 
a  bed  of  water  and  became  too  heavy  to  be 
borne  by  it,  it  broke  off  and  sunk  to  the  bottom 
of  the  water;  this  layer  was  then  buried  before 
another  had  a  chance  to  grow  and  fall  above 
it,  to  be  buried  in  the  same  manner.  This  pro- 
cess I  myself  had  the  opportunity  of  witnessing 
on  a  small  scale  in  Southern  Holland,  near  the 
village  of  Exaeten. 

But  what  about  the  coal  supply?  In  a  lecture 
before  the  National  Geographical  Society,  Pro- 
fessor C.  D.  Walcot,  Director  of  the  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey,  said  "that  the  anthracite  coal 
fields  of  the  U.  S.  would  be  exhausted,  at  the 
present  rate  of  consumption,  in  sixty  years, 
and  that  by  the  year  2203  the  bituminous  coal 
fields  will  also  be  worked  out.  After  that  this 
country  will  be  compelled  to  secure  its  fuel  sup- 
ply from  the  lignite  beds  of  the  west."    I  sup- 


122 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


pose  when  this  time  comes,  and  not  till  then, 
shall  smoke  inspectors  be  able  to  boast  that  they 
have  successfully  reformed  factory  and  brewery 
chimneys. 

But  who  knows,  perhaps  changes  no  less 
great  will  take  place  in  the  mineral  world  than 
have  arisen  in  the  social  world  regarding  the 
use  of  coal.  Does  it  not  seem  strange  that  as 
late  as  the  year  1316  the  combustion  of  coal 
was  restricted  by  law  in  London,  England,  be- 
cause it  was  considered  unhealthy? 

Coal  is,  then,  one  of  the  last  links  in  a  won- 
derful series  of  transformation  from  growing 
vegetation.  The  incipient  plant,  exultant  in  its 
youthful  vigor,  weds  the  sunbeam  at  sight.  To- 
gether, sunbeam  and  plant,  weave  for  years  and 
years  from  mom  till  night.  The  garment  they 
weave,  though  laid  aside  when  life's  task  is 
done,  is  not  destroyed.  The  pcnl-up  ray,  in- 
visible, yet  mighty,  awaits  the  day  when  it  may 
cheer  the  sitting-room  or  propel  the  locomotive. 
Shut  up  behind  the  prison  bars  of  coal,  the  cap- 
tive sunbeam  patiently  awaits  its  day  of  deliver- 
ance. The  coal  is  dug  and  ignited;  as  soon  as 
an  atom  of  it  can  combine  with  oxygen,  the 
prisoner  is  again  released.  The  consumption  to 
ashes  of  one  pound  of  coal  requires  the  oxygen 
contained  in  150  cubic  feet  of  air.  As  if  awak- 
ing to  life  and  to  a  sense  of  its  former  power,  it 
seizes  hold  of  every  atom  of  oxygen  in  reach 
and  spends  itself  in  the  service  of  man.     The 


ir 


li 


I 


The  Passion   Fi.owkr. 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  123 


golden  beam  now  leaps  from  its  prison  in  the 
form  of  light  and  heat,  once  more  assuming  the 
nature  it  possessed  when  it  entered  the  growing 
leaf  and  stem  many  ages  ago. 


6.  Botany  and  Religion 

Every  individual  member  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom  loudly  proclaims  the  existence  of  a 
Creator.  Man  may  be  able  to  unite  the  same 
elements  that  are  found  in  a  plant,  and  perhaps 
in  the  same  form,  but  he  can  never  unite  them 
so  as  to  produce  a  seed  or  a  plant  that  will  grow. 
The  vital  principle  with  its  peculiar  properties 
and  energy  comes  from  God,  by  creation.  He 
it  was  who  said  in  the  beginning,  "Let  the  earth 
bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and 
the  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after  its  kind."— 
Gen.  1:11.  And  whether  we  study  the  nature 
of  the  blade  of  grass  or  the  mighty  oak,  we 
always  and  ever>  where  hear  the  sweet  echo  of 
that  commanding  voice  of  our  Heavenly  Father 
ringing  in  our  ears.  "A  blade  of  grass,"  says  Dr. 
Brown,  "imbibes  the  moisture  of  the  earth,  in- 
hales the  fixed  air  and  the  ammonia  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  weaves  its  own  expanding 
form,  with  all  its  delicate  organs  and  their  sus- 
ceptibilities, out  of  their  dismembered  parts."* 
Could  any  man,  or  any  number  of  men,  produce 
something  of  the  kind  that  would  thus  begin 

*BaIfour.  p.  398. 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator  123 


Thk   Passion    Ffowkk. 


golden  beam  now  leaps  from  its  prison  in  the 
form  of  light  and  heat,  once  more  assuming  the 
nature  it  possessed  when  it  entered  the  growing 
leaf  and  stem  many  ages  ago. 

6.  Botany  and  Rfligion 

Every  individual  menihcr  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom  loudly  proclaims  the  existence  of  a 
Creator.  Man  may  be  able  to  unite  the  same 
elements  that  are  found  in  a  plant,  and  perhaps 
in  the  same  form,  but  he  can  never  unite  them 
so  as  to  produce  a  seed  or  a  plant  that  will  grow. 
The  vital  principle  with  its  peculiar  properties 
and  energy  comes  from  God,  by  creation.  Ho 
it  was  who  said  in  the  beginning,  "Let  the  earth 
bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and 
the  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after  its  kind."— 
Gen.  1:11.  And  whether  we  studv  the  nature 
of  the  blade  of  grass  or  the  mighty  oak,  we 
always  and  ever>  where  hear  the  sweet  echo  of 
that  commanding  voice  of  our  Heavenly  Father 
ringing  in  our  ears.  "A  blade  of  grass,"  says  Dr. 
Brown,  "imbibes  the  moisture  of  the  earth,  in- 
hales the  fixed  air  and  the  ammonia  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  weaves  its  own  expanding 
form,  with  all  its  delicate  organs  and  their  sus- 
ceptibilities, out  of  their  dismembered  parts."* 
Could  any  man,  or  any  number  of  men,  produce 
something  of  the  kind  that  would  thus  begin 

•Balfour,  p.  398. 


11 


111 


M 


»M 


ir 


124 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator   125 


to  grow  and  live  by  drawing  on  the  various 
realms  of  nature? 

Again,  every  tree  furnishes  a  striking  ex- 
ample of  the  economy  of  nature,  and  easily 
leads  the  observer  to  the  certain  knowledge  of 
nature's  All-wise  Author.  The  roots  of  a  tree, 
under  normal  circumstances,  fix  themselves 
firmly  into  the  ground  in  exact  proportion  to  its 
growth  above  ground.  The  lateral  extension  of 
the  roots,  moreover,  has  a  constant  relation  to 
the  horizontal  spreading  of  the  branches,  so 
that  the  rain  falling  from  the  edge  of  the  latter 
is  absorbed  by  the  tender  tips  of  the  roots.  "We 
have  here,"  says  Roget,  "a  striking  instance  of 
that  beautiful  correspondence  which  has  been 
established  between  processes  belonging  to  dif- 
ferent departments  of  nature,  and  which  are 
made  to  concur  with  such  remote  effects  as 
could  never  have  been  accomplished  without 
these  preconceived  and  harmonious  adjust- 
ments."— Roget's  Bridgewater  Series. 

And  if  we  contrast  the  principal  functions 
of  animals  and  plants  we  find  that  the  union 
between  them  is  so  intimate  that  neither  could 
subsist  without  the  other.  Mr.  Balfour,  in  his 
book  entitled  "Botany  and  Religion"  (p.  127), 
has  formulated  the  following  index,  which 
shows  at  a  glance  that  there  is  a  patent  design 
and  intended  order  in  the  mutual  dependence 
existing  between  the  vegetable  and  animal 
kingdoms. 


AN  ANIMAL 

Is  an  apparatus  of  combus- 
tion, or  oxidation; 

Possesses  the  faculty  of 
locomotion ; 

Bums  carbon ; 

Gives  off  carbonic  acid; 

Consumes  oxygen,  starch, 
gum  and  sugar; 

Produces  heat; 

Restores  its  elements  to  air 
and  earth; 

Transforms  organized  into 
mineral  matter. 


A  VEGETABLE 

Is  an  apparatus  of  reduc- 
tion, or  deoxidation; 
Is  fixed; 

Reduces  carbon; 

Fixes  carbonic  acid; 

Produces  oxygen,  starch, 
gum  and  sugar; 

Absorbs  heat; 

Derives  its  elements  from  air 
and  earth; 

Transforms  mineral  into  or- 
ganized matter. 


Could  such  an  efficient  interdependence  be 
the  result  of  chance!  Would  it  not  be  para- 
mount to  the  most  absurd  folly  to  deny  the  ex- 
istence of  an  intended  order  in  the  face  of  such 
a  remarkable  and  efficient  economy!  Let  us 
rather  admit  the  existence  of  an  All-wise  Cre- 
ator and  learn  to  love  Him  better  as  we  advance 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

"Eternal  Power  from  whom  these  blessings  flow, 
Teach  us  still  more  to  wonder,  more  to  know ! 
Seed-time  and  harvest  let  us  see  again! 
Wander  the  leaf -strewn  wood,  the  frozen  plain! 
Let  the  first  flower,  corn-waving  field,  plain,  tree. 
Around  our  home,  still  lift  our  souls  to  Thee ! 
And  let  us  ever,  midst  Thy  bounties,  raise 
An  humble  note  of  thankfulness  and  praise." 

—Robert  Bloomfield,  1823, 


]\ 


126 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


There  is  an  intimate  reciprocal  relation  be- 
tween natural  and  revealed  religion,  and  he 
who  studies  botany  intelligently  will  soon  be- 
come convinced  of  this  truth.     The  meadows, 
forests  and  fields  become  abodes  of  earnest  and 
meditative   delight   of  the   highest  order.     "A 
fool's  eyes  are  in  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  says 
Solomon,  ever  in  search  of  that  which  he  has 
not  seen,   and,  in   all   probability,  never  shall 
see  nor  understand.     Wisdom  and  knowledge 
are  near  at  hand,  to  be  drawn  from  things  the 
most  commonplace.    "Raise  the  stone  and  thou 
Shalt  find  Me;  cleave  the  wood,  and  there  am  I." 
The  same  good  and  beneficent  Creator  who 
reveals  Himself  in  a  mute  manner  through  the 
plants  and   flowers  of  the   earth,  has  deigned 
lovmgly  to  reveal  Himself  in  a  far  more  perfect 
manner  through  Revelation.     "And  God  said- 
Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the  green  herb,  and 
such  as  may  seed,  and  the  fruit  tree  yielding 
fruit  after  its  kind,  which  may  have  seed  in  it- 
self upon  the  earth.     And  it  was  so  done  "— 
Gen.  1 :11. 

Moreover,  the  smallest  of  known  plants,  if 
c  osely  examined,  is  ablo  to  cheer,  console,  and 
elevate  the  believer.  What  more  commonplace 
than  the  daisy? 

"Yet,  who  but  God,  who  arched  the  skies 
And  pours  the  day-springs  living  flood, 
Wondrous  alike  in  all  He  tries. 

Could  rear  the  daisy*s  purple  budt 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator   127 

Mould  its  green  cup,  its  wiry  stems; 

Its  fringed  border  nicely  spin; 
And  cut  the  gold-embossed  gem, 

That,  set  in  silver,  gleams  within? 
And  fling  it,  unrestrained  and  free, 

O'er  hill  and  dale,  and  desert  sod. 
That  man  where'er  he  walks  may  see 

In  every  step,  the  stamp  of  God." 

—John  Mason  Good. 


In  nature,  as  well  as  in  the  order  of  grace. 
Almighty  God  often  attains  a  certain  important 
end  by  using  apparently  insignificant  means. 
"God's  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  His 
thoughts  as  our  thoughts." — Isaias  40:9.  In  His 
infinite  wisdom  God  knows  how  to  combine 
about  fifteen  elements  into  the  well-nigh  count- 
less variety  of  herbs,  plants  and  trees  that  adorn 
the  surface  of  the  globe  and  thrive  in  the  beds 
of  rivers,  lakes  and  seas.  And  what  a  wonder- 
ful cooperation  between  the  vegetable  and  min- 
eral kingdoms!  We  everywhere  find  that  the 
Creator  of  both  has  coordinated  them  and  made 
them  subservient  to  one  another.  How  well  this 
is  illustrated  in  the  lichens,  those  seemingly 
useless  little  plants  that  form  the  green  and 
yellow  coverings  of  rocks.  Whoever  has  trav- 
eled in  mountainous  districts  will  remember 
having  seen  them  on  all  sides  of  bleak,  pro- 
jecting rocks,  otherwise  devoid  of  vegetable 
life.  Some  varieties  of  lichens  secrete  an  acid 
(usually  oxalic  acid),  by  means  of  which  the 


128 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


hardest  rock  is  gradually  corroded  and  con- 
verted into  soil.  Thus  the  barren  peaks  of  moun- 
tains are  invaded  by  this  little  plant,  and  made 
into  rich  soil,  which  is  carried  into  the  plains 
and  valleys  below.  To  this  minute  fertilizer  do 
we,  also,  trace  in  great  measure  the  soil  formed 
on  the  coral  islands  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  which 
furnishes  the  necessary  nourishment  to  the 
cocoanut  palm.  And  this  tree,  in  turn,  furnishes 
the  natives  with  almost  everything  they  need 
for  the  sustenance  of  life.  Thus  we  see  the 
modest  little  lichen  converting  rocks  into  virgin 
soil,  and  the  barren  coral  islands  into  fertile 
gardens. 

Again,  what  a  wonderful  example  of  God's 
infinite  power  do  the  charming  coral  reefs 
furnish!  How  insignificant  the  means!  Yet, 
how  grand  and  immense  the  achievement!  The 
coral  structures  of  the  microscopic  polyps  give 
us  a  striking  instance  of  the  simplicity  and 
wondrous  sublimity  of  the  Creator's  works. 
Even  the  American  nation  would  lack  the  en- 
terprise to  undertake  the  construction  of  such 
an  edifice  in  mid-ocean. 

"Each  wrought  alone,  yet  all  together  wrought, 
Unconscious,  not  unworthy  instrument, 
By  which  a  Hand  invisible  was  rearing 
A  new  Creation  in  the  secret  deep. 
Omnipotence  wrought  in  them,  with  them,  by  them; 
Hence,  what  Onmipotence  alone  could  do, 
Worms  did." 

—"Pelican   Island,"  Montgomery. 


Vegetable  World  Postulates  a  Creator   129 


Psalm  103 

BENEDICITE 

Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul!  0  Lord  my  God,  Thou  art 
exceedingly  great.  Thou  hast  put  on  praise  and  beauty, 
and  art  clothed  with  light  as  with  a  garment. 

Who  stretchest  out  the  heaven  like  a  pavilion;  who 
coverest  the  higher  rooms  thereof  with  water. 

Who  makest  the  clouds  Thy  chariot;  who  walkest  upon 
the  wings  of  the  winds. 

Who  makest  Thy  angels  spirits;  and  Thy  ministers  a 
burning  lire. 

Who  hast  founded  the  earth  upon  its  own  bases;  it 
shall  not  be  moved  for  ever  and  ever. 

The  deep  like  a  garment  is  its  clothing;  above  the 
mountains  shall  the  waters  stand. 

At  Thy  rebuke  they  shall  flee;  at  the  voice  of  Thy 
thunder  they  shall  fear. 

The  mountains  ascend,  and  the  plains  descend  into  the 
place  which  Thou  hast  founded  for  them. 

Thou  hast  set  a  bound  which  they  shall  not  pass  over; 
neither  shall  they  return  to  cover  the  earth. 

Thou  sendest  forth  springs  in  the  vales;  between  the 
midst  of  the  hills  the  water  shall  pass. 

All  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  drink;  the  wild  asses 
shall  expect  in  their  thirst. 

Over  them  the  birds  of  the  air  shall  dwell;  from  the 
midst  of  the  rocks  they  shall  give  forth  their  voices. 

Thou  waterest  the  hills  from  Thy  upper  rooms;  the 
earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  fruit  of  Thy  works: 

Bringing  forth  grass  for  cattle,  and  herb  for  the  service 
of  men.— Psalms  103:11-14. 


CHAPTER   IV 

MAN,     THE     SOVEREIGN     TENANT     OF     THIS     PALACE 

WONDERFUL,  IS  THE  SOLE  CONSCIOUS  BENEFICIARY 

OF  HIS  creator's  GOODNESS  AND  MAGNANIMITY 

IT  is  not  a  matter  of  conjecture  that  the  entire 
visible  universe  is  called  into  being  by  the 
Almighty  for  the  special  and  direct  benefit  of 
man.  Surely  God  could  not  have  been  more  gen- 
erous, more  benign,  more  loving,  more  munili- 
cenl  in  the  natural  order,  than  He  has  been. 
Nor  has  He  simply  created  the  universe  with  its 
infinite  number  of  beings!  No,  He  also  pre- 
serves it,  and  provides  in  a  thousand  different 
ways  to  secure  the  happiness  of  man, — its  king. 
When  contemplating  this  most  evident  and  con- 
soling truth,  the  Holy  Bishop  of  Hippo,  St. 
Augustine,  explained  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy: 
"Lord,  Thou  hast  care  of  every  individual  as  if 
he  were  the  only  one  over  whom  Thou  watchest; 
and  Thou  hast  care  of  all,  as  if  all  were  only 
one  single  individual."  "Thou  hast  made  the 
little  and  the  great,  and  thou  hast  equally  care 
of  all."— Wisd.  6,  8. 

Why  thus  lon^injr,  thus  forever  si^hinp. 
For  the  far-off,  unattained,  and  dim, 

"While  the  beautiful,  all  round  thee  lying. 
Offers  up  its  low,  perpetual  hymnt 

130 


Man  Ifs  Sovereign  Tenant 


131 


Wouldst  thou  listen  to  its  gentle  teaching, 
All  thy  restless  yearnings  it  would  still: 

Leaf  and  flower  and  laden  bee  are  preaching 
Thine  own  sphere,  though  humble,  first  to  fill. 

And  if  through  earth's  wide  domains  thou  rovest, 
Sighing  that  they  are  not  thine  alone. 

Not  those  fair  fields,  but  thyself  thou  lovest, 
And  their  beauty  and  thy  wealth  are  gone. 

Nature  wears  the  color  of  the  spirit; 

Sweetly  to  her  worshipper  she  sings; 
All  the  glow,  the  grace  she  doth  inherit, 

Round  her  trusting  child  she  fondly  flings. 

— Harriet  Winslow  Sewall. 


If  we  ascend  in  spirit  high  above  this  globe 
of  ours  with  its  endless  variety  of  mineral  sub- 
stances,— with  its  flowers,  herbs,  plants  and 
trees, — with  its  fishes,  birds  and  animals, — and 
consider  it  in  its  relation  to  the  universe,  ah, 
how  great  and  magnificent  does  not  Almighty 
God  appear!  Let  us  remain  in  the  mere  natural 
order  and  then  strive,  if  we  can,  to  gain  an 
adequate  idea  of  this  palatial  home  which  our 
God  has  prepared  for  us!  Ah,  what  generosity, 
what  liberality,  what  magnificence  on  the  part 
of  our  Heavenly  Father!  Next  to  His  own  glory 
the  great  visible  object  and  end  in  creating  the 
universe  and  adorning  our  little  globe  with  a 
firmament  strewn  with  countless  stars  and 
planets  was  to  show  His  bounty  towards  us  and 


132 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


to  increase  our  temporal  happiness.    And  how 
infinite  this  bounty! 

What  a  grain  of  sand  is  to  the  boundless 
seashore,  that  is  the  earth  when  compared  with 
the  universe.  Yes,  this  entire  globe  which  we 
inhabit,  with  its  many  hills  and  mountains,  with 
its  valleys  and  canyons,  with  its  plains  and 
prairies,  with  its  rivers,  lakes,  seas  and  oceans, 
is  but  an  atom  floating  about  in  unbounded 
space.  An  insignificant  little  nothing  occupying 
an  obscure  corner  of  the  vast  universe.  And 
yet  this  little  globe  called  the  earth  is  the  most 
important  of  all  the  celestial  bodies,  because  it 
is  the  present  home  of  God's  children.  For  our 
direct  benefit  and  happiness  has  the  Almighty 
called  forth  those  countless  orbs  and  phenomena 
that  adorn  the  skies.  Ah,  what  a  sublime  idea 
do  we  not  obtain  of  our  Heavenly  Father  when 
we  view  the  diamond  bedecked  ceiling  of  our 
earthly  palace!  What  an  exquisite  order,  beauty 
and  harmony  do  we  not  behold  when  viewing 
the  firmament  on  a  starry  night!  All  is  unity, 
all  harmony,  amid  those  countless  stars,  mighty 
orbs  and  solar  systems.  How  beautiful,  how 
great,  how  sublime  and  benevolent  must  not 
their  Creator  be!  Did  we  not  know  that  this 
grand  floating  palace  was  created  for  us  we 
would  be  tempted  to  think  that  it  were  intended 
for  angelic  spirits  and  not  for  poor,  frail  mortals. 


Man  IVs  Sovereign  Tenant 


133 


TRILIJA. 


SURSUM 

Ye  golden  lamps  of  heaven,  farewell, 

With  all  your  feeble  light; 
Farewell,  thou  ever-changing  moon, 

Pale  empress  of  the  night. 

And  thou,  refulgent  orb  of  day. 

In  brighter  flames  arrayed, 
My  soul,  that  springs  beyond  thy  sphere, 

No  more  demands  thme  aid. 

Ye  stars  are  but  the  shining  dust 

Of  my  divine  abode, 
The  pavement  of  those  heavenly  courts 

Where  I  shall  reign  with  God. 

The  Father  of  eternal  light 

Shall  there  His  beams  display; 

Nor  shall  one  moment's  darkness  mix 
With  that  unvaried  day. 

No  more  the  drops  of  piercing  grief 

Shall  swell  into  mine  eyes; 
Nor  the  meridian  sun  decline 

Amidst  those  brighter  skies. 

—Philip  Doddridge. 

1.  Man  is  the  Image  of  His  Maker 

"Art  thou  a  type  of  beauty,  or  of  power, 
Of  sweet  enjoyment,  or  disastrous  sin'? 
For  each  thy  name  denoteth.  Passion-flower  I 
Oh,  no!  thy  pure  corolla's  depth  withia 


Man  Its  Sovereign  Tenant 


133 


TKILLIA. 


SURSUM 

Ye  golden  lamps  of  heaven,  farewell, 

With  all  your  feeble  light; 
Farewell,  thou  ever-changing  moon, 

Pale  empress  of  the  night. 

And  thou,  refulgent  orb  of  day. 
In  brighter  flames  arrayed, 

My  soul,  that  springs  beyond  thy  sphere, 
No  more  demands  thme  aid. 

Ye  stars  are  but  the  shining  dust 

Of  my  divine  abode, 
The  pavement  of  those  heavenly  courts 

Where  I  shall  reign  with  God. 

The  Father  of  eternal  light 

Shall  there  His  beams  display; 

Nor  shall  one  moment's  darkness  mix 
With  that  unvaried  day. 

No  more  the  drops  of  piercing  grief 
Shall  swell  into  mine  eyes; 

Nor  the  meridian  sun  decline 
Amidst  those  brighter  skies. 

—Philip  Doddridyc. 


1.  Man  is  the  Image  of  His  Maker 

"Art  thou  a  type  of  beauty,  or  of  power. 
Of  sweet  enjoyment,  or  disastrous  sin? 
For  each  thy  name  denoteth.  Passion-flower! 
Oh,  no!  thy  pure  corolla's  depth  withiu 


134 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


We  trace  a  holier  symbol ;  yea,  a  sign 

'Twixt  God  and  man ;  a  record  of  that  hour 

When  the  expiatory  act  divme 

Cancelled  that  curse  which  was  our  mortal  dower. 

It  is  the  Cross!" 

— Sir  Aubrey  de  Vere. 


It  is  by  supernatural  faith  accompanied  by 
good  works  that  man, — the  crown  and  glory  of 
visible  creation, — attains  the  end  for  which  he 
has  been  created.  How  different  the  various 
conceptions  of  man.  One  views  himself  as  a  con- 
glomeration of  a  number  of  elements  jumbled 
together  in  a  more  or  less  haphazard  manner; 
another  admires  the  wonderful  mechanism  of 
the  human  organism,  but  loses  sight  of  the  di- 
recting mind;  a  third  reckons  the  commercial 
value  of  the  ingredients  which  constitute  the 
human  body,  but  denies  the  very  existence  of  a 
human  soul. 

"An  ingenious  chemist  has  made  the  claim 
that  the  average  human  being  is  worth  $18,300.00 
from  the  chemical  standpoint.  His  calculations 
are  based  on  the  fact  that  the  human  body  con- 
tains three  pounds  and  thirteen  ounces  of  cal- 
cium; and  calcium  is  worth  $300.00  an  ounce."* 

"An  average  man  of  150  pounds  contains 
the  constituents  found  in  1,200  hens'  eggs.  There 
is  enough  gas  in  him  to  fill  a  gasometer  of  3,649 
cubic  feet.  He  contains  enough  iron  to  make 
four  tenpenny  nails.  His  fat  would  make  seven- 

•  "The  Scientific  American."— April  12,  1902, 


Man  Ifs  Sovereign  Tenant 


135 


ty-five  candles  and  a  good  sized  cake  of  soap. 
His  phosphate  content  would  make  8,064  boxes 
of  matches.  There  is  enough  combined  hydro- 
gen in  him  to  carry  him  above  the  clouds.  The 
remaining  constituents  of  a  man  would  yield,  if 
utilized,  six  teaspoonfuls  of  salt,  a  bowl  of  sugar, 
and  ten  gallons  of  water." 

"A  man  has  500  muscles,  1,000,000,000  cells, 
200  different  bones,  4  gallons  of  blood,  several 
hundred  feet  of  arteries  and  veins,  more  than 
25  feet  of  intestines,  and  millions  of  pores.  His 
heart  weighs  from  8  to  12  ounces,  capacity  from 

4  to  6  ounces  in  each  ventricle,  and  its  size  is 

5  by  3V2  by  2V2  inches.  It  is  a  hollow,  muscular 
organ,  and  pumps  221/2  pounds  of  blood  every 
minute.  In  24  hours  the  heart  pumps  16  tons. 
It  beats  about  72  times  a  minute.  In  one  year 
an  average  man's  heart  pumps  11,680,000  pounds 

of  blood." 

The  responsiveness  of  some  of  the  members 
and  organs  of  the  human  body  is  well  nigh  in- 
credible. In  the  course  of  a  lecture  at  the  Con- 
ference of  Musicians  held  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  in 
the  year  1903,  it  was  staled  that  "a  pianist  in 
view  of  the  present  state  of  piano-forte  playing 
has  to  cultivate  the  eye  to  see  about  1,500  signs 
in  one  minute,  the  fingers  to  make  about  2,000 
movements,  and  the  brain  to  receive  and  under- 
stand separately  the  1,500  signs  while  it  issues 
2,000  orders."* 

•  "Scientific  American."— May  2.  1903. 


136 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


Man  It's  Sovereign  Tenant 


137 


"Regarded  from  a  merely  mechanical  stand- 
point," says  Dr.  W.  R.  C.  Latson,  "the  human 
body  is  so  infinitely  complex,  so  exquisitely  re- 
sponsive, so  strangely  perfect,  that  by  com- 
parison it  dwarfs  all  other  things  known  to  man 
and  stands  alone  as  the  wonder  of  the  world." 

"In  all  mechanics  and  architecture,  in  all 
the  machines  and  inventions  of  men,  there  is 
not  to  be  discovered  one  single  device  that  is 
not  found  in  the  human  body.  The  arch,  the 
lever,  the  inclined  plane,  a  pump,  a  grist  mill, 
a  camera,  a  stringed  instrument,  hinges,  pul- 
leys, ball  and  socket  joints, — all  these  and  a 
score  of  other  man-made  inventions  are  merely 
crude  copies  of  the  wonderful  devices  found  in 
his  own  body." 

"The  lungs,  through  their  600,000,000  tiny 
openings,  have  a  surface  equal  to  the  floor  of  a 
room  forty  feet  square.  The  body  contains 
2,000  miles  of  tubing  through  which  half  a  bar- 
rel of  fluid  is  constantly  pouring.  The  blood 
travels  168  miles  a  day.  Truly,  we  are  'fearfully 
and  wonderfully  made'!" 

How  striking,  in  this  connection,  the  state- 
ment of  the  great  American  geologist  and  nat- 
uralist: "The  body  of  man  was  not  made  more 
completely  for  the  service  of  the  soul  than  the 
earth,  in  all  its  arrangements  from  beginning  to 
end,  for  the  spiritual  being  that  was  to  oc- 
cupy it. 


>»* 


•  "Manual  of  Geology." — Agassis. 


How  grand,  moreover,  is  the  human  in- 
tellect, that  faculty,  in  virtue  of  which  we  can 
be  likened  to  the  Prototype.  By  his  understand- 
ing man  rises  incomparably  above  all  the 
other  visible  creatures  of  God;  and  by  his  free- 
will he  can,  in  truth,  become  God-like  in  his 
thoughts  and  actions.  Indescribably  swift  is 
the  velocity  of  the  sun's  rays.  A  ray  of  light 
at  its  ordinary  speed  could  encircle  the  earth 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  But  swifter  still  is 
human  thought.  The  mind  can  instantly  reach 
the  farthest  star,  or  planet.  Yea,  the  astrono- 
mer can  weigh  and  measure  the  most  distant 
and  gigantic  known  worlds  with  the  greatest 
accuracy.  The  space  and  area  occupied  by  the 
celestial  bodies  are  well-nigh  limitless.  With- 
out the  slightest  exertion,  however,  the  human 
eye  views  and  encompasses  the  entire  firma- 
ment. True,  we  cannot  hope  ever  to  reach  even 
the  nearest  one  of  the  celestial  bodies.  It  would 
be  the  sheerest  folly  to  imagine  that  by  any 
means  Jules  Verne's  "Trip  to  the  Moon,"  or  a 
similar  achievement,  might  be  realized.  Yet 
we  can  invade  and  explore  those  vast  seas  of 
blue  and  their  countless  islands  with  the  mind. 
Thus  we  can  take  possession  of  them  intellec- 
tually. And  this  intellectual  invasion  and  ex- 
ploring of  other  worlds  forms  one  of  the  keenest 
of  human  delights.  Surely  this  is  a  sufficient 
reason  for  their  existence,  and  our  gratitude. 

Were  a  king  to  erect  a  magnificent  palace 


if 


'hi 


138 


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Man  It*s  Sovereign  Tenant 


139 


and  present  it  to  a  friend  for  his  sole  use  and 
occupancy,  the  gift  would  be  more  highly  ap- 
preciated and,  likewise,  objectively  greater, 
than  if  only  a  few  rooms,  or  a  single  story  were 
placed  at  his  friend's  disposal.  Thus,  he  who 
believes  that  the  human  race  are  the  sole  oc- 
cupants of  the  material  universe  must  needs 
appreciate  God's  goodness  and  magnanimity 
more  highly  than  he  who  holds  the  opinion  that 
also  the  other  planets  are  inhabited.  Such  a 
man  will  consequently  give  greater  glor>'  to 
God.  Now,  there  is  reason  for  believing,  as  we 
saw,  that  the  Almighty  has  created  the  material 
universe  directly  for  man  "whom  He  has  made 
to  His  own  image  and  likeness"  and,  only  "a 
little  less  than  the  angels"  and  "set  over  the 
works  of  His  hands."  The  more  we  learn  of  the 
material  universe  the  more  we  are  moved  to  give 
glory  to  its  Creator. 

The  earth  has  been  created  for  our  actual 
occupancy  and  possession.  It  is  a  superb  abode 
made  for  man  alone.  The  myriads  of  stars, 
planets  and  other  heavenly  bodies  are  as  so 
many  gems  set  in  the  ceiling  of  Our  Palace 
Wonderful.  "Those  glittering  constellations 
form  the  encrusted  monogram  of  God,  in  the 
midnight  sky."— Fr.  Nicholas  Ward,  O.  P.  The 
great  variety  and  beauty  of  scene  displayed  in 
the  grand  dome  above  us  exalts  the  mind  and 
expands  the  heart  with  reverence  and  gratitude. 


In  the  realms  of  variegated  tints  and  shade 
around  and  about  our  mansion  beautiful  we 
ever  behold  new  and  attractive  proofs  of  divine 
prodigality.  Whether  we  behold  the  sky  at 
dawn,  noon  day,  or  sunset,  we  find  an  Invisible 
Hand  busily  engaged  in  adorning  the  spacious 
halls  of  our  superb  palace  with  the  most  ex- 
quisite tapestry.  The  artist  may  be  able  to  re- 
call an  obscure  glimpse  of  that  transcendent 
beauty,  but  none  can  ever  hope  to  give  us  a 
faithful  picture  of  the  reality.  Alas,  it  is  only 
too  true  that 

"We  often  praise  the  cveninpr  clouds, 

And  tints  so  gay  and  bold, 
But  seldom  think  upon  our  God, 

Who  tinged  those  clouds  with  gold. 
Those  evening  clouds,  that  setting  ray, 
And  beauteous  tints,  serve  to  display 

Their  great  Creator's  praise; 
Then  let  the  short-lived  thing  called  man. 
Whose  life's  comprised  within  a  span. 

To  Him  his  homage  raise." 

''Heaven  fades  away  before  our  eyes, 

Heaven  fades  within  our  heart, 
Because  in  thought  our  Heaven  and  Earth 

Are  cast  too  far  apart. 
Ah !    Had  we  but  the  gift  to  trace 

The  wisdom  of  the  starry  sky, 
No  gloomy  types  would  meet  our  eye, 
And  to  the  signs  so  sweetly  wrought, 
By  moon  and  stars,  there  would  be  naught 

But  kind  interpretation  given," 


140 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


PSALM   8 

"For  I  will  behold  Thy  heavens,  the  works  of  Thy 
fingers;  the  moon  and  the  stars  which  Thou  hast  founded. 

What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  himt  or  the  son 
of  man  that  Thou  visitest  himt 

Thou  hast  made  him  a  little  less  than  the  angels,  Thou 
hast  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honour;  and  hast  set 
him  over  the  works  of  Thy  hands. 

Thou  hast  subjected  all  things  under  his  feet,  all  sheep 
and  oxen ;  moreover  the  beasts  also  of  the  fields. 

The  birds  of  the  air,  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  that  pass 
through  the  paths  of  the  sea. 

;0  Ijord  our  Lord,  how  admirable  is  Thy  name  in  all 
the  earth  !"—PsaZms  8:4-10. 


2.  Man,  the  Object  of  God's  Loving  Providence 

IN  THIS  World,  is  Destined  for  Eternal 

Happiness  in  the  Next  World 

If  a  person,  upon  entering  a  house  would 
find  it  nicely  furnished  and  everything  in  the 
best  of  order,  he  would  say  that  it  is  evidently 
under  the  management  of  some  person.  The 
simple  sketch  outlined  in  the  preceding  pages 
imperfectly  reveals  a  grand  and  superb  palace 
of  well-nigh  incomprehensible  proportions  and 
exquisite  beauty.  Quatrefages,  in  an  encomium 
on  the  design  of  this  unique  work  of  the  Al- 
mighty, says:  "We  see  nothing  extraordinary 
in  the  cry  of  adoration  which  escapes  from  Lin- 
naeus at  the  very  introduction  of  his  immortal 
'Systema  Naturae';  while  we  can  easily  compre- 


Man  Ifs  Sovereign  Tenant 


141 


bend  the  feeling  which  actuated  Geoffrey  St. 
Hilaire,  an  illustrious  naturalist,  when  he  be- 
gan and  ended  one  of  his  last  works  with  the 
exclamation,  *Glory  be  to  God!'" 

A  strong  and  intelligent  faith  in  the  existence 
of  an  All-wise  and  Supreme  Creator,  who  di- 
rects and  governs  the  world,  is  therefore  a  fun- 
damental postulate  of  reason,  and  easily  ob- 
tained. Such  a  faith,  too,  is  a  necessary  pream- 
ble for  that  other  higher  submission  of  the  in- 
tellect and  will,  "without  which  it  is  impossible 
to  please  God."— Heb.  11 :6.  Natural  faith  leads 
us  to  the  portals  of  heaven;  supernatural  faith 
grants  us  a  glimpse  of  heaven  itself, — our  future 
home.  Grand,  indeed,  is  this  our  temporal 
abode,  but  grander,  beyond  compare,  is  the 
celestial  paradise,  which  was  made  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world. 

"The  man  of  Faith  sees  into  heaven 
Where  sages  but  detect  its  law; 
Judge  which  the  better  wisdom  is, 
And  who  hath  holier  love  and  awe." 

The  object  matter  of  the  faith  here  referred 
to  are  the  truths  revealed  by  Almighty  God  to 
mankind  in  a  supernatural  manner.  These 
truths  are  contained  in  the  Bible  and  tradition. 
Their  sum  total  is  called  the  deposit  of  faith, 
which  was  finally  completed  at  the  death  of  the 
last  apostle.  "Catholics  regard  the  living  voice 
of  the  Church  at  all  times  as  the  authentic  in- 


142 


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Man  It*s  Sovereign  Tenant 


143 


terpreler  of  Divine  Revelation,  and  there  is  no 
appeal  from  this  voice;  Protestants,  on  the 
other  hand,  hold  that  the  written  Word  of  God 
is  the  supreme  rule;  that  the  Revelation  thus 
given  by  God  is  to  be  learned  by  each  Christian 
reading  the  Rible;  and  that  this  reading  con- 
ducted under  proper  conditions  will  not  lead 
him  astray." — Outlines  of  Dogmatic  Theology, 
Hunter,  S.  J.,  Vol.  I,  No.  154. 

Revelation,  in  its  etymological  sense,  signifies 
the  withdrawal  of  a  veil.  Its  truths,  in  the 
Catholic  mind,  withdraw  a  veil  from  man's 
natural  vision,  and  enable  him  to  see  above  and 
beyond  mere  natural  ken.  Divine  Revelation 
teaches  us  our  true  end,  and  the  means  to  be 
employed  in  order  to  secure  that  blessed  goal. 
Eacli  and  every  trutli  contained  in  Divine  Reve- 
lation is,  therefore,  to  be  accepted  by  man,  since 
they  all  rest  on  the  veracity  and  authority  of 
the  Almighty  who  enjoins  their  acceptance. 

The  infidel  and  the  rationalist  will  not  admit 
tlie  necessity  of  a  Divine  Revelation;  many  will 
even  deny  that  it  is  possible  for  the  Almighty 
to  reveal  truths  to  mankind.  To  the  man  who 
reflects,  however,  there  can  scarcely  be  anything 
more  plain  or  certain  than  the  possibility  of 
such  a  Revelation  on  the  part  of  God.  Owing  to 
His  infinite  perfection  and  His  omniscience  the 
Almighty  certainly  knows  many  things  of  which 
we  are  in  ignorance;  and  who  will  assert  that 
God  is  not  able  to  communicate  some  of  His 


superior  knowledge  to  us  His  rational  creatures? 
Since  He  is  omnipotent,  nothing  is  impossible  to 

Him. 

Moreover,  since  the  Creator's  intellect  is  in- 
finitely more  perfect  than  any  created  intelli- 
gence. He  must  necessarily  have  a  clear  and 
comprehensive  insight  into  many  things  that 
we  are  unable  to  understand.  What  should 
hinder  Him  from  revealing,  also,  truths  of  this 
kind,— or  mysteries?  To  deny  the  existence  of 
such  revealed  truths  is  tantamount  to  denying 
that  the  Divine  intellect  is  superior  to  the  intel- 
lect of  man,  and  that  the  Infinite  Creator  is 
greater  than  the  finite  creature. 

It  is,  moreover,  not  only  possible  for  Al- 
mighty God  to  communicate  truths  to  man,  but 
it  is  meet  and  just  that  He  do  so.  Mankind 
stands  in  need  of  divinely  revealed  truths. 
Every  human  being  possesses  an  intellect  which 
essentially  seeks  the  truth.  The  acquisition  of 
new  truths  develops  and  perfects  the  human 
intellect.  What  is  more  natural,  then,  than  that 
the  Creator  should  assist  man  in  perfecting  the 
God-like  faculty  with  which  He  has  endowed 
His  creatures.  This  He  does  in  Divine  Revela- 
tion. Also  the  acquisition  of  a  truth  which  is 
above  our  reason  and  unfathomable  to  our 
limited  understanding  perfects  our  intellect; 
for  its  acquisition  increases  our  knowledge  and 
certainty,  and  reveals  to  us  the  grandeur  and 
majesty  of  God. 


1 


144 


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Man  lt*s  Sovereign  Tenant 


145 


Again,  according  to  the  disposition  of  an 
all-ruling  providence  the  natural  law,  which  is 
engraven  in  the  heart  of  man,  is  to  be  elucidated 
by  the  revealed  or  written  law  of  God.  It  is 
often  well-nigh  impossible,  especially  since  sin 
has  clouded  man's  mind,  to  learn  clearly  the 
dictates  of  conscience  and  the  mandates  of  the 
unwritten  law  without  the  aid  of  Divine  Revela- 
tion. Some  of  the  greatest  minds  of  antiquity 
never  attained  to  the  knowledge  of  some  of  the 
most  ordinary  truths  about  God  and  morality. 
What  a  keenness  of  intellectual  vision  did  not 
such  men  as  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle  and  Cic- 
ero possess!  Yet  they  lived  and  died  in  igno- 
rance of  some  of  the  most  fundamental  tenets  of 
mere  natural  religion.  The  support  which  his 
religious  knowledge  gave  him  did  not  protect 
a  Socrates  against  most  shameful  disorders. 
Plato,  in  spite  of  being  an  acknowledged  mor- 
alist of  great  repute,  believed  in  polytheism. 
The  God  of  Aristotle  was,  indeed,  the  Creator  of 
all  things,  but  a  Creator  that  no  longer  con- 
cerned himself  about  the  world.  And  does  not 
the  great  Cicero  exclaim,  in  the  bewilderment  of 
his  mind,  "It  would  require  a  Divine  knowledge 
to  discern  the  true  God  among  so  many  false 
ones!"  We  may  conclude  how  difficult  it  must 
have  been  for  the  ordinary  mind  in  antiquity  to 
learn  the  true  God  and  the  tenets  of  a  natural 
religion,  when  the  intellectual  giants  were 
scarcely  able  to  do  so.    And  what  shallow  and 


contradictory  theories  on  man  and  the  world  are 
the  outcome  when  one  deliberately  closes  his 
eyes  to  the  light  of  Divine  Revelation!  The  one 
theory  quickly  overturns  and  destroys  what  the 
other  would  establish.  Their  authors  burn  the 
midnight  oil  vainly  striving  to  prove  that  man 
has  not  been  created,  or  that  he  is  self-sufficient. 
They  seek  to  satisfy  themselves  and  bewilder 
others  by  catchy  terms  which  are  deliberately 
left  undefined.  In  vain  will  thev  strive  to  evolve 
light  from  their  confused  brain,  for  light  must 
come  from  without;  it  cannot  be  evolved  from 
darkness  within. 

But  even  the  deificrs  of  human  reason,  at 
least  implicitly,  admit  the  necessity  of  a  Divine 
Revelation.  At  a  banquet  which  that  fanatic  of 
reason,  Voltaire,  gave  one  day  to  a  number  of 
his  friends,  some  one  began  cracking  jokes 
about  Revelation.  "Not  too  loud,"  said  Voltaire, 
as  one  of  his  servants  came  within  hearing  dis- 
tance, "lest,  perchance,  he  walk  off  some  day 
with  my  silverware."  So  a  Revelation  on  the 
part  of  God  is  an  admitted  necessity  in  order 
that  men  respect  the  property  rights  of  their 
neighbor!  The  great  German  Shakespeare, 
Goethe,  is  said  to  have  cried  out  in  his  dying 
hour  for  "more  light."*  Let  us  hope  that  he 
did  not  deliberately  close  his  eyes  during  life 
to  the  benign  and  supernatural  light  of  Revela- 
tion, which  alone  can  illumine  our  paths  heav- 

•  That  Goethe  meant  spiritual  light  is  denied  by  some  of 
his  biographers. 


10 


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Our  Palace  Wonderful 


enward.  When  realizing  that  her  time  of  de- 
parture was  drawing  nigh,  Mary  Somerville,— 
that  great  mathematical  genius,— said  to  her 
nurse  and  constant  attendant :  "Hold  my  hand, 
please,  when  you  see  me  passing  away,  that  I 
may  not  feel  the  desolation  of  going  forth  alone 
into  the  awful  darkness!"  Darkness,  indeed, 
an  "awful  darkness,"  when  not  lit  up  by  the 
soft,  golden  rays  of  God's  Revelation ! 

The  light  of  reason  alone  cannot  banish  this 
darkness  entirely.  Countless  thousands  have 
ended  miserably  after  spending  a  lifetime  in  un- 
belief. How  many  have  erred  by  seeking  their 
last  end  in  the  arts  and  sciences!  These  may 
soothe  man's  craving  after  the  good,  beau- 
tiful and  true,  but  they  cannot  satisfy  it.  The 
discoveries  of  scientific  research  and  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  fine  arts  are  well  worthy  of 
man's  endeavors;  but  they  must  ever  remain 
means  to  an  end.  Their  pursuit  must  be  made 
subservient  to  a  supernatural  destiny.  The  study 
of  nature  must  lead  up  to  nature's  God.  The 
material  world  is  intended  by  its  Creator  to 
serve  us  as  a  commentar}^  to  His  Revelation.  So, 
too,  must  all  philosophy  begin  with,  and  end  in 
God,— the  Eternal  Truth.  Even  though  man 
w^ere  still  in  a  purely  natural  state  and  intended 
for  mere  natural  happiness,  the  present  light  of 
his  reason  alone  would  scarcely  suffice  to  direct 
him  to  his  end. 

Since  God,  however,  has  graciously  deigned 


Man  IVs  Sovereign  Tenant 


147 


to  raise  man  to  the  supernatural  order  and 
destined  him  for  a  supernatural  end,  a  Divine 
Revelation  has  become  absolutely  ne-cessary. 
Without  supernatural  faith  it  is  now  "impossi- 
ble to  please  God."  The  person  who  imagines 
that  he  can  get  along  without  the  aid  of  di- 
vinely revealed  truths  is  laboring  under  a  delu- 
sion. The  light  afforded  by  our  unaided  reason 
compared  with  the  light  of  Divine  Revelation  is 
as  the  light  of  a  fire-fly  to  that  shed  throughout 
the  solar  system  by  the  sun. 

It  is  hard  to  estimate  the  great  good  effected 
by  Divine  Revelation!  Suppose  that  all  its 
many  consoling  and  life-giving  truths  were  sud- 
denly obliterated  from  men's  minds!  In  spite 
of  our  being  in  the  joyful  possession  of  the  hu- 
man knowledge  and  experience  of  the  genera- 
tions that  have  come  and  gone,  were  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  to  dis- 
appear from  the  world,  we  would  very  soon  oc- 
cupy the  same  depth  of  moral  depravity  held 
by  Pagan  Rome.  As  then  in  a  short  time  every 
vice  and  crime  would  have  its  patron  or 
patroness  in  some  god  or  goddess.  Yes,  we  need 
Divine  Revelation  and  cannot  secure  our  eternal 
destiny  without  it.  Men  of  the  highest  intel- 
lectual genius  throughout  the  Christian  era 
have,  like  St.  Augustine,  thought  their  time  well 
spent  in  studying  and  meditating  its  sublime 
and  inspiring  truths.  They  are  wont  to  compare 
the  light  of  reason  with  that  of  the  moon  and 


148 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


the  light  of  faith  with  that  of  the  sun.  ShoiiUl 
"the  moon"  eclipse  the  light  of  "the  sun,"  that 
is,  should  human  reason  place  itself  between 
man  and  faith,  man  will  find  himself  enveloped 
in  moral  and  intellectual  darkness,  unable  to 
live  by  the  life  of  "the  children  of  light." 

And  the  Catholic  Church  has  ever  been  a 
faithful  custodian,  staunch  defender  and  in- 
fallible interpreter  of  this  greatest  of  God's  gifts 
to  man.  She  possesses  the  authority  from  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  to  teach  and  explain 
Divine  Revelation  to  all  nations  of  all  times, 
II nd  hence  she  sends  her  divinely  appointed 
priests  "into  the  whole  world"  to  "preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature."  And  what  does  this 
Gospel  teach  concerning  our  origin  and  destiny? 
What  does  it  tell  us  about  God's  relation  to 
man,  and  man's  relation  to  God? 

The  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  concludes  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  in  which  he  lauds  the 
unfathomable  wisdom  of  God,  with  the  memor- 
able words :  "For  of  Him,  and  by  Him,  and  in 
Him  are  all  things;  to  Him  be  glory  forever." 
In  this  short  sentence  of  Divine  Revelation  we 
are  taught  the  origin  and  destiny  of  all  things. 
These  few  words,  penned  under  Divine  inspira- 
tion solve  the  "riddle  of  the  universe."  As  all 
things  created  have  gone  forth  from  God,  so  do 
all  things,  if  rightly  viewed,  readily  lead  up  to 
God.  When  beholding  the  manifold  creatures 
of  God,  whether  in  detail  or  as  forming  one 


Man  IVs  Sovereign  Tenant 


149 


complete  entirety,  every  intelligent  being  is 
prompted  to  exclaim  vdth  St.  Paul:  "Of  God, 
and  by  God,  and  in  God  are  all  things;  to  Him 
be  glory  forever." 

What   an   immense   variety   and  beauty   of 
form  do  we  not  discover  in  the  few  elements 
that  constitute  the  mineral  kingdom !    Any  one 
of  the  many  kinds  of  sand,  stone,  rocks,  shells, 
fossils,  or  soils  distributed  throughout  the  earth 
furnishes  an  abundance  of  matter  for  study  and 
admiration.    The  corals,  the  crystals,  the  pearls, 
the   precious    stones,    all    have    their   peculiar 
beauty  and  attractiveness.    In  fact,  even  a  sin- 
gle grain  of  sand  is  of  interest  to  a  man  who  un- 
derstands mineralogy;  for  he  can  discern  there- 
in unmistakable  traces  of  an  infinitely  perfect 
and  loving  God,   who  has  created  all  lifeless 
creatures   and   distributed   them   in   a   manner 
suited  to  support  the  vegetable  and  animal  life 
of  the  globe.    The  more  deeply  a  mineralogist 
delves  into  his  interesting  branch  of  knowledge, 
the  more  he  will  become  convinced  that  all  the 
mineral  substances  were  created  to  serve  the 
higher  grades  of  created  beings. 

Even  a  superficial  observer  of  the  visible 
world  can  easily  discern,  moreover,  that  the 
mineral  substances  are  intended  by  Almighty 
God  to  furnish  the  vegetable  kingdom  with  its 
necessary  nourishment.  And  here,  again,  what 
wonders  do  we  behold!  We  see  the  entire 
earth  clothed  and  adorned  with  thousands  of 


150 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


different  species  of  flowers,  shrubs,  and  trees. 
And  the  most  insignificant  of  these  reveals  a 
world  of  beauty  and  design  to  the  intelligent 
student.    Whether  we  choose  to  contemplate 
a  blade  of  grass  or  one  of  those  stalely  pines  in 
Mariposa  Grove,  Cahfornia,  whether  the  hum- 
ble daisy  by  the  wayside,  or  the  wondrous  Raf- 
flesia  with  its  flower  of  seven  to  eight  feet  in 
diameter,  each  and  every  individual  meniber  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  if  rightly  viewed,  man- 
ifests the  greatness,  the  beauty,  the  munificence, 
of  a  loving  Creator.     They  each  teach  us  that 
"of  God,  and  by  God  and  in  God  are  all  things." 
Mungo   Park,   an    explorer   of   note,   whilst 
traversing  the  wilds  of  Africa  some  years  ago, 
was  set  upon  by  robbers  and  left  by  them  to 
die  of  starvation.    When  about  to  abandon  all 
hope  and  give  up  to  despair,  his  eye  fell  upon 
some  moss  growing  on  the  underside  of  a  sun- 
scorched  rock.    This  circumstance,  he  tells  us, 
gave  rise  to  the  following  reflection :   "Can  that 
Being  who  planted,  watered  and  brought  to  per- 
fection in  this  obscure  part  of  the  world  this  lit- 
tle plant,  a  thing  which  appears  of  so  small 
importance,  look  with  imconcern  upon  the  situa- 
tion and  sufl'erings  of  creatures  formed  after 
His  own  image?    Surely  not !"     "Reflections  like 
these,"  writes  the  learned  explorer,  "would  not 
allow  me  to  despair.    I  rose  to  my  feet  and  dis- 
regarding both   hunger   and   fatigue,   traveled 
instantly  onward,  assured  that  relief  was  near 


Man  It's  Sovereign  Tenant 


151 


at  hand.  Nor  was  I  disappointed.  For  the 
same  Creator  who  had  provided  the  necessary 
nourishment  for  that  little  plant,  which  I  had 
seen  growing  beneath  the  rock,  had  also  a  prov- 
ident care  of  me.  I  soon  discovered  a  caravan 
of  travellers  who  gave  me  a  most  hospitable 

reception."*  . 

Yes!    A  loving  Creator  has  called  mto  bemg 
every  little  plant,  herb,  flower  and  tree.    He  it 
is,  too,  who  sustains  the  life  He  gives.  He  wards 
off    from    the    vegetable    creation    destructive 
winds  and  injurious  droughts.     God  it  is  w^ho 
sends   the   rain    and   sunshine,   and   robes   the 
snow-white  lily,  and  weaves  the  carpets  of  the 
fields.    For,  says  the  Inspired  Writer,  "fire,  rain, 
hail,  snow,  ice,  stormy  winds,  fulfill  God's  word." 
This  provident  care  of  the  Almighty  over  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  however,  is  to  serve  a  higher 
end.    The  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth  has,  in- 
deed, solicitude  for  the  life  and  propagation  of 
the  herbs  and  plants,  but  only  in  so  far  as  these 
are  needed  to  further  the  welfare  of  a  higher 
class  of  beings,  viz.,  the  animals.     And,  again, 
what  an  immense  variety  of  beings  does  not 
here  rivet  our  attention  at  the  very  first  glance 
of  the  mind's  eye !    Who,  for  instance,  is  able  to 
classify  the  countless  inhabitants  of  the  bound- 
less ocean!     Who  would  attempt  to  name  the. 
thousands  of  animals  that  roam  over  the  earth! 
Who,  the  multitudinous  variety  of  winged  song- 

•  "Travels  In  the  Interior  Districts  of  Africa."— M.  Park,  p.  243. 


152 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


sters  that  flit  through  the  air  and  rejoice  the 
heart  of  man!  The  beauty,  the  instinct,  the  in- 
genuity and  keen  sight  of  these  various  kinds 
of  birds  and  beasts  have  ever  been,  and  ever 
shall  be  subjects  of  wonder  and  amazement  to 
every  intelligent  man  who  gives  them  a  serious 
thought. 

And  for  all  these  many  creatures,  which  are 
endowed  with  the  faculties  of  perceiving  and 
feeling,  the  Almighty  Lord  of  the  Universe  cares 
and  provides  as  if  they  alone  were  the  sole  ob- 
ject of  His  solicitude.  They  turn  their  eyes  to- 
wards Him  for  sustenance,  and  receive  nourish- 
ment in  due  time.  "It  is  God,"  says  St.  Luke, 
"who  giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all 
things."  Though  they  neither  sow,  nor  reap, 
nor  spin,  still  they  live  and  thrive.  Yea,  "not 
even  a  sparrow  falls  from  the  roof  without  the 
knowledge  and  consent  of  its  All-wise  and  Prov- 
ident Creator." 

But  here  again  we  discover  the  universal 
law,  creatures  of  a  lower  order  are  destined  to 
serve  those  of  a  higher.  It  is  easy  to  learn  that 
all  irrational  creatures  are  subject  to  man. 
Man,  alone,  is  endowed  with  understanding  and 
free  will,  and  these  prerogatives  make  him  su- 
perior to  all  other  mundane  creatures.  Everj^- 
where,  then,  we  observe  the  wisdom,  and  great- 
ness, and  subHmity  of  an  Omnipotent  and  be- 
nign Creator.  The  creatures  of  a  lower  grade 
serve  those  of  a  higher,  and  all  is  order  and 


Man  IVs  Sovereign  Tenant 


153 


harmony.  It  is  only  when  man  interferes  and 
crosses  the  plans  of  Almighty  God  that  the 
order  and  harmony  intended  by  Divine  Prov- 
idence are  for  a  time  disturbed. 

"Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they 
grow.  They  labor  not,  neither  do  they  spin.  But 
I  say  to  you,  that  not  even  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory  was  arrayed  as  one  of  these.  And  if  the 
grass  of  the  field,  which  is  today,  and  tomorrow 
is  cast  into  the  oven,  God  doth  so  clothe,  how 
much  more  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith?"— Matt. 

6:28-30. 

Yes,  the  manifold  forms  of  vegetable  life, 
with  which  our  temporal  home  is  carpeted  and 
adorned,  are  well  calculated  to  inspire  man 
with  a  reverential  confidence  in  the 

"Great  Universal  Cause,  mysterious  Power 
Tliat  clothes  the  forest,  and  that  paints  the  flower, 
Bids  the  fell  poison  in  the  upas  ^ow, 
And  sweet  nutrition  in  the  maple  flow ; 
Where'er  we  turn,  the  impartial  eye  must  see 
Each  leaf  a  volume,— its  great  Author,  Thee; 
Nor  less  in  every  twig  than  Aaron's  rod, 
Behold  the  agency  of  Nature's  God." 


"The  visible  is  but  a  fair,  bright  vale 
That  winds  around  the  great  Invisible; 
The  Finite— it  is  nothing  but  a  smile 
That  flashes  from  the  face  of  Infinite; 
A  smile  with  shadows  on  it— and  'tis  sad 
Men  bask  beneath  the  smile,  but  oft  forget 


154 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


The  loving  Face  that  very  smile  conceals. 
The  Changeable  is  but  the  broidered  robe 
Enwrapped  about  the  great  Unchangeable; 
The  Audible  is  but  an  echo,  faint, 
Low  whispered  from  the  far  Inaudible ; 
This  earth  is  but  an  humble  acolyte 
A  kneeling  on  the  lowest  altar-step 
Of  this  creation^s  temple,  at  the  Mass 
Of  Supemature,  just  to  ring  the  bell 
At  Sanctus!    Sanctus!     Sanctus!  while  the  world 
Prepares  its  heart  for  consecration's  hour. 
— ''The  Seen  and  the  Unseen.'' — Father  Ryan. 


The  La  France  Kosf. 


CHAPTER   V 

A    STUDY    OF    THE    UNIVERSE    INCREASES    FRATERNAL 
CHARITY.   AS  WELL  AS  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD 

THE  contemplation  of  the  visible  universe  is 
well  calculated  to  awaken  and  increase  the 
liveliest   sentiments  of   true   Christian   charity. 
If  ever  you  have  made  an  ocean  voyage,  you 
will   remember   how  your  hearts   warmed   to- 
wards your  fellow-passengers.     Hardly  has  the 
ship  ploughed  the  waters  of  the  "high  seas,"— 
away  from  everything  visible,  save  the  endless 
waters  beneath  and  the  grand  dome  above,— 
when  one  feels  and  realizes  that  all  those  on 
board  constitute,  for  the  time,  a  new-formed 
family.     All  have  gone   forth   from   the  same 
port,  and  all  hope  to  arrive  at  the  same  goal. 
Cut  off  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  the  voyagers 
arc  all  closely  united  by  common  interests,  and 
exposed  to  common  dangers.    If  prejudices  ex- 
isted before  they  are  now  largely  forgotten  and 
a  strong  friendship  unites  all  on  board. 

It  should  seem  that  a  contemplation  of  the 
visible  creation  should  have  the  same  effect 
upon  every  intelligent  beholder.  We  find  our- 
selves on  this  sailing  vessel,— called  the  earth,— 
speeding  on  through  space  at  a  marvelous  veloc- 

155 


i 


il 


i; 


IH 


TiiK  La  France  Kosk. 


CHAPTER   V 


A    STUDY    OF    THE    UNIVEKSE    INCREASES    FRATERNAL 
CHARITY,   AS  WELL  AS  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD 

* 

THE  conlemplalion  of  the  visible  universe  is 
well  calculated  lo  awaken  and  increase  the 
liveliest   sentiments   of   true   Christian   charity. 
If  ever  you  have  made  an  ocean  voyage,  you 
will   remember   how  your  hearts   warmed    to- 
wards your  fellow-passengers.     Hardly  has  the 
ship  ploughed  the  waters  of  the  "high  seas,"— 
away  from  everything  visible,  save  the  endless 
waters  beneath  and  the  grand  dome  above- 
when  one  feels  and  realizes  that  all  those  on 
board  constitute,  for  the   time,  a  new-formed 
family.     All   have   gone   forth   from   the  same 
port,  and  all  hope  to  arrive  at  the  same  goal. 
Cut  off  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  the  voyagers 
arc  all  closely  united  by  common  interests,  and 
exposed  to  common  dangers.    If  prejudices  ex- 
isted before  they  are  now  largely  forgotten  and 
a  strong  friendship  unites  all  on  board. 

It  should  seem  that  a  contemplation  of  the 
visible  creation  should  have  the  same  effect 
upon  every  intelligent  beholder.  We  find  our- 
selves on  this  sailing  vessel,— called  the  earth,— 
speeding  on  through  space  at  a  marvelous  veloc- 

155 


156 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


ity.  Astronomy  and  religion  teach  us  that  we, 
as  well  as  all  else  in  existence,  are  under  the 
guidance  and  command  of  a  Supreme  Pilot.  As 
there  are  physical  laws  governing  the  material 
world,  so  there  must  be  moral  laws  governing 
the  rational  world.  We  all  have  gone  forth  from 
Ihe  Creator  and  shall,  ere  long,  arrive  before 
His  tribunal  to  be  judged.  The  Almighty  Crea- 
tor of  the  universe  is  the  "beginning  and  the 
end"  of  every  human  being.  We,  on  this  little 
globe  have,  therefore,  common  interests  and 
common  dangers.  We  are  all  on  a  journey 
through  space  immeasurable.  All  our  fellow- 
men  are,  therefore,  fellow-passengers  on  the 
voyage  through  time  to  eternity,  from  earlh 
to  heaven, — our  common  home.  Should  not  this 
circumstance  inspire  us  with  kindly  and  chari- 
table sentiments  towards  all  men? 

"Thy  Father  is  mine,  and  mine  is  thine; 
We  both  are  His  equal  care; 
His  gfoodness,  and  love,  and  blessing  benign, 
We  each  as  His  children  share." 

"In  sympathy,  then,  I  give  thee  a  hand 
And  greet  thee  as  thus  we  go, 
And  pledge  a  renewal  in  that  bright  land 
Where  pleasures  perennial  grow." 

—Anonymous. 

All  the  various  departments  of  visible  crea- 
tion seem  to  be  intimately  connected  and  de- 
pendent upon  one  another.    Why  then  should 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       157 


not  men  be  united?  If  we  are  to  believe  Dr. 
James  Hamilton  "the  dark  history  of  chaos 
written  by  the  Almighty's  hand  on  the  rocky 
skeleton  of  our  globe  is  telling  now  to  the  earth's 
inhabitants  of  the  stupendous  power  that 
framed  their  rolling  home,— of  that  unfathomed 
wisdom,  that  unbounded  goodness,  at  whose 
manifestation  the  morning  stars  sung  together, 
and  at  the  fuller  exhibition  of  whom,  the  re- 
deemed   bands    chant    forth    their    meed    of 

praise." 

"In  whatever  direction,"  says  Sir  Charles 
Lyell,  "we  pursue  our  researches,  whether  in 
time  or  space,  we  discover  everywhere  the  clear 
proofs  of  a  creative  intelligence  and  of  His  fore- 
sight, wisdom  and  power." 

So,  too,  in  regard  to  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
"Every  member  of  the  vegetable  kingdom," 
says  the  eminent  botanist,  Mr.  Balfour,  "from 
the  lofty  to  the  most  minute  and  transient,— 
from  the  cedar  of  Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  on  the 
wall,— has  its  peculiar  office  and  is  fitted  to  ef- 
fect an  especial  end  in  the  economy  of  nature."* 

"Thought  is  visible  everywhere,"  remarks 
Agassiz,  "in  geological  distribution,  in  organic 
structure  and  gradation.  Everywhere  there  is 
an  intellectual  connection  running  through  the 
whole.  Were  we  not  intellectual  beings,  alhed 
by  the  nature  of  our  intellect  to  the  maker  of 
these,  we  could  not  read  them." 

•  "Botany  and  Religion." — p.  11. 


I 


111 


158 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


"Each  moss,  each  shell,  eoch  insect,  holds  a  place, 
Important  in  the  plan  of  Him  who  framed 
The  scale  of  beings;  holds  a  place,  which,  lost, 

Would  break  the  chain,  and  leave  a  gap  behind 
AYhieh  natiire^s  self  would  rue." 

—Stilling  fleet. 

No  believer  can  contemplate  this  terrestrial 
palace  of  ours  without  experiencing  within  his 
bosom,  moreover,  the  love  of  God,  and  an  ar- 
dent desire  to  be  united  with  Him  in  Heaven. 
God,  who  dwells  "in  light  inaccessible,"  is  the 
end  for  which  we  have  been  created.  All  things 
should  serve  to  bring  us  nearer  that  blessed 
goal.  In  the  material  world  the  sun  is  the  cen- 
ter around  which  everything  material  in  the 
solar  system  revolves.  That  "admirable  instru- 
ment of  the  Most  High"  is  the  most  perfect  of 
all  inanimate  beings.  Though  the  earth  receives 
but  a  fraction  of  the  total  light  and  heat  radiated 
by  the  sun,  yet  no  living  creature  could  exist 
without  it.  Banish  the  sun  from  our  solar  sys- 
tem, and  darkness,  confusion  and  chill  death 
would  be  the  result.  Banish  God  from  the  hearts 
of  men  and  intellectual  darkness  as  well  as  spir- 
itual death  would  quickly  follow.  In  the  moral 
and  intellectual  world.  Almighty  God  is  the  cen- 
ter around  which  all  is  destined  to  revolve.  The 
rapturous  harmony  of  the  spheres  provides  man 
with  a  never-failing  source  of  joy  and  delight, 
and  such  will  it  be  to  us  if  we  but  make  God, 
who  produces  that  harmony,  the  center  of  our 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       l59 


moral  and  intellectual  lives.  The  Almighty  is 
"the  beginning  and  the  end,— the  Alpha  and  the 
Omega,— the  first  and  the  last  of  every  human 
being."  As  Lactantius  well  says:  "The  world 
was  made  that  we  might  be  here;  we  are  born 
that  we  may  know  God,  the  Creator  of  the  world 
and  of  us;  we  know  God  that  we  may  worship 
Him  and  receive  immortality,  so  that,  being 
made  like  the  angels,  we  may  forever  serve  our 
God  and  Father  with  them  in  the  kingdom 
where  He  forever  reigns." 

He  who  by  divine  grace  is  able  to  read 
created  things  aright  is  prompted  to  praise  aiid 
glorify  his  Creator  without  ceasing.  Beautiful 
are  the  things  which  Thou,  O  Lord,  hast  made; 
yet  unspeakably  more  beautiful  art  Thou  who 
hast  created  all."  "Thyself,  Lord,  stirrest  us  to 
take  delight  in  praising  Thee;  for  Thou  hast 
made  us  for  Thyself,  and  our  heart  has  no  ease 
until  it  rest  in  Thee."— St.  Augustine. 

The  contemplation  of  the  unity  and  harmony 
which  reign  in  the  physical  world  will,  there- 
fore, awaken  in  the  intelligent  beholder  the 
liveliest  sentiments  of  charity  towards  God  and 
man.  And  charity  tends  to  unify  and  har- 
monize the  hearts  and  minds  of  men. 

"God,  in  the  nature  of  each  being,  founds 
Its  proper  bliss,  and  sets  its  proper  bounds; 
But  as  He  f  ram'd  a  whole,  the  whole  to  bless, 
On  mutual  wants  built  mutual  happiness; 
So,  from  the  first,  eternal  order  ran  ^^ 

And  creature  linked  to  creature,  man  to  man. 


ft 


160 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


There  is  no  creature  in  the  universe  that  if 
rightly  viewed  will  not  reflect  the  goodness  of 
God  towards  us  His  children.  And  if  Almighty 
God  appears  so  loving,  so  provident,  so  beauti- 
ful, so  great  and  bounteous  as  reflected  in  the 
obscure  mirror  of  visible  nature,  ah,  how  in- 
comprehensibly great,  and  good,  and  beautiful 
must  He  not  be  in  Himself,  as  He  is  enthroned 
in  Heaven.  Yes,  He  who  has  created  this — Our 
Palace  Wonderful — as  a  temporal  abode,  has 
prepared  an  infinitely  more  beautiful  home  for 
us  in  the  world  to  come. 

"Here,  in  this  world,  no  joy  is  quite  complete. 
Sometimes  the  acquisition  of  earthly  happiness 
is  mingled  with  bitterness,  again  the  conse- 
quence brings  grief,  oftener  still  the  possessor  is 
robbed  of  true  happiness  by  the  fear  of  losing 
that  which  has  rendered  him  happy.  The  purest 
joys  on  earth  are  but  a  faint  reflection  of  the 
happiness  of  heaven.  The  pleasures  of  this 
life  awaken  our  desires,  but  fail  to  satisfy.  Those 
of  the  next  life,  however,  shall  satiate  us."  "I 
shall  be  satisfied,  when  Thy  glory  shall  appear." 
— Ps.  16:15.  We  remember  the  miracle  Our 
Blessed  Lord  wrought  on  the  poor  invalid  who 
had  been  a  cripple  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 
For  thirty-eight  years  he  had  been  tortured  by 
all  the  aches  and  pains  human  flesh  is  heir  to. 
The  joy  he  felt,  when  suddenly  restored  to  full 
vigor  and  health,  is  as  a  grain  of  sand  to  the  vast 
Sahara,  compared  with  the  delight  that  shall 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       161 


accompany  the  restoration  of  our  bodies  in  their 
glorified  state.    Think  of  it!    Freed  from  every 
ill,  every  ailment,  every  pain,— from  everything 
that  might  in  the  least  detract  from  our  un- 
mingled  happiness!    Ah,  who  can  imagine  the 
joy  that  shall  be  our  blessed  portion  when  re- 
united to  our  glorified  bodies!     St.  Paul  tells 
us  "that  the  body  is  sown  in  dishonor,  but  that 
it  shall  rise  in  glory."— I  Cor.  15:42.     It  shall 
then  be  made  susceptible  of  that  alone  which 
gives  joy.    Then  the  body  freed  from  everything 
grossly  material,  shall  be  returned  to  us  without 
the  least  stain  of  sin.     Yes,  the  blessed  shall 
shine  like  the  stars  of  the  firmament  for  all 
eternity.    Another  quality  of  the  glorified  body 
will  be  subtleness,  i.  e.,  it  will  be  able  to  go  from 
place  to  place  with  the  rapidity  of  thought;  for, 
as  the  apostle  tells  us,  "our  body  is  sown  in 
weakness,  it  shall  rise  in  power."— I  Cor.  15:43. 
Our  Divine  Savior  after  His  resurrection,  as 
we  know,  suddenly  appeared  in  the  midst  of 
the  apostles,  though  every  entrance  to  the  hall 
in  which   they  were  had  been  firmly  closed; 
this  quality  of  penetrating  any  material  sub- 
stance at  will  is  another  characteristic  of  the 
glorified  body.    Yes!    Freed  from  every  bodily 
ill  and  grossness,  we  shall  be  able  to  go  from 
place  to  place  without  the  least  corporal  in- 
cumbrance of  any  kind. 

We  shall,  however,  not  only  be  free  from 
every  ill  in  heaven,  but  we  shall  there,  also,  pos- 


162 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


sess  every  good.  Would  that  I  had  the  tongue 
of  an  angel  to  describe  the  joys  of  heaven, — the 
realm  of  joy  eternal,— the  home  of  the  just, — 
the  land  of  the  living,— where  all  tears  shall  be 
dried,  where  all  hunger  shall  be  appeased,  where 
all  thirst  shall  be  quenched  to  inebriation  with 
the  torrents  of  God's  joys!  Would  that  I  could 
adequately  describe  thee,  O  paradise! 

I  well  know  that  no  one  can  do  full  justice 
to  this  sublime  subject.  How  could  it  be  possi- 
ble for  man  to  describe  that  which  "eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  heart  conceived"?  Yet 
though  we  cannot  in  this  life  fathom  the  felicity 
of  heaven  we  know  that  it  consists  chiefly  in 
seeing,  enjoying,  and  loving  Almighty  God.  The 
principal  source  of  all  heavenly  joys  is  the 
beatific  vision.  There  the  blessed  see  God  as 
He  is,  and  are  united  to  Him  bv  the  most 
intimate  union  possible.  There  we  shall  clearly 
see  the  infinite  beauty  of  Him  whom  we  love 
most.  The  sight  of  God  will  produce  a  happi- 
ness in  us  which  will  be  eminently  perfect  and 
full.  In  heaven.  Almighty  God,  who  is  infinite 
love,  infinite  beauty,  infinite  perfection,  will 
reveal  Himself  to  us  in  all  His  glory.  We  in 
our  present  imperfect  state  would  be  unable  to 
endure  the  beatific  vision.  Our  weak  and  frail 
nature  is  incapable  of  beholding  so  sublime  a 
sight.  Moreover,  the  moment  we  see  God  we 
shall  possess  and  enjoy  Him.  He  Himself  as- 
sures us  that  "He  will  be  our  reward  exceed- 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       163 


ingly  great."  "He  who  conquers  shall  receive 
heaven  (this),  and  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he 
shall  be  My  son." 

This  possession  of  God  begets  a  mutual,  in- 
tense and  everlasting  love  between  the  elect  and 
their  Creator.  Here  on  earth,  although  they 
who  love  God  are  the  happiest,  yet  their  joy  can 
never  be  perfect;  for  they  cannot  see  the  all- 
perfect  beauty  of  Him  they  love;  nor  can  they 
be  certain  that  they  shall  always  continue  to 
love  Him.  In  heaven,  however,  the  love  of  the 
soul  upon  seeing  God  will  be  infinitely  increased 
and  secured  for  all  eternity.  Then,  too,  shall 
we  perceive  that  all  that  is  worthy  of  our  esteem 
and  love  in  this  world,  "all  that  is  noble  in  man, 
grand  in  creation,  or  beautiful  in  nature,  comes 
from  that  fathomless  fountain  of  perfection  as 
a  faint  ray  of  light  from  the  sun";  hence,  we 
cannot  but  love  Almighty  God  with  all  our 
heart's  affection,  and  this  love  of  God  will  be  a 
perennial  source  of  joy  to  us. 

Another  unremittent  source  of  happiness  in 
heaven  will  be  the  company  of  the  blessed.  The 
immense  joy  that  overflows  the  hearts  of  rela- 
tives and  lime-tried  friends  who  meet  after 
many  years  of  separation  is  but  as  a  tiny  rivu- 
let of  the  mighty  stream  of  heavenly  bliss  which 
inundates  the  souls  of  the  beatified.  In  heaven 
the  joys  of  each  individual  are  communicated 
to  his  neighbor,  and  all  become  as  intimately 
united  as  fire  and  heat.    There,  the  moment  we 


\  ! 


f\\ 


164 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


see  the  saints,  their  heroic  and  virtuous  deeds 
shall  be  revealed  to  us.  We  shall  then  become 
united  with  the  elect  by  the  purest  bonds  of 
love,  and  we  cannot  but  love  them  in  return 
since  they  are  endowed  with  all  the  excellencies 
and  virtues  that  win  our  respect  and  regard.  Ah, 
what  a  happiness  it  will  be  to  enjoy  the  com- 
pany of  the  blessed!  To  be  able  to  associate 
with  our  guardian  angel  and  the  myriads  of 
saints!  What  a  joy  must  it  not  be  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  all  the  saints  and  martyrs 
whose  glorious  deeds  gild  the  pages  of  history ! 
And  those  illustrious  heroes  shall  be  our  com- 
panions and  intimate  friends  for  all  eternity. 

What  raptures  of  delight,  too,  shall  entrance 
our  senses  as  we  wander,  in  such  heavenly  com- 
pany, through  that  radiant  Jerusalem  which 
needs  not  sun  nor  moon  to  shine  in  it,  since 
"God  Himself  is  the  light  hereof!"  "What  joy 
to  behold  the  gorgeous  walls,  the  mighty  col- 
umns and  awe-inspiring  arches  of  that  city  of 
gold,  whose  walls  are  of  precious  stones,  whose 
gates  are  of  sapphire  and  emerald.  What  de- 
light to  promenade  through  heaven's  meadows 
and  dales,  and  to  behold  those  scenes  which, 
like  a  charming  landscape  at  early  dawn,  ever 
increase  in  beauty  and  variety." 

"And  dare  I  speak  of  the  glorified  Savior, 
and  how  we  shall  share  in  that  love  which  St. 
John  enjoyed  when  he  leaned  upon  His  bosom 
and  heard  the  beating  of  His  Sacred  Heart?  We 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       165 


have  no  measure  for  a  bliss  like  that;  yet  we 
know  that  Our  Divine  Savior  also  shall  be  our 
companion  in  heaven."    "Amen,  I  say  unto  you, 
the  Lord  will  gird   Himself  round,   and   pass 
among  the  blessed,  and  will  minister  unto  them 
a  banquet  of  eternal  joy."    Yes,  he  will  minister 
a  banquet  of  joy  to  every  one  of  our  five  senses. 
Our  five  senses,  refined  and  purified,  shall  be 
rendered  capable  of  receiving  and  enjoying  in 
an  eminent  degree  all  that  an  Omnipotent  Pow- 
er could  devise  to  satiate  them.    Much  that  de- 
lights the  senses  here  shall  also  form  a  part  of 
their  enjovment  there;  for  example,  we  know 
for  a  certaintv  that  the  heavenly  mansions  re- 
verberate   with    an    eternal    Sanctus,    Sanctus, 

Sanctus. 

And  who  of  us  has  not  experienced  that  a 
sublime  strain  of  music  has  often  rendered  him 
forgetful  of  all  else,  and  elevated  his  mind  to 
the  very  throne  of  God,— the  source  of  all  har- 
mony? We  are  only  too  familiar  with  the 
beautiful  legend  that  describes  a  heavenly  joy 
corresponding  to  one  of  the  most  ordinary  joys 
on  earth,— the  singing  of  a  bird:  Just  as  the 
first  rays  of  the  morning  sun  peered  through 
the  thick  foliage  of  the  neighboring  hills  a  holy 
monk  rose  from  devout  prayer  and  entered  the 
convent  garden.  Long  had  he  been  rapt  in 
sweet  contemplation  of  God's  infinite  goodness. 
The  grandeur  of  the  scenery  now  seems  to  in- 
vite him  to  join  nature  in  glorifying  and  prais- 


166 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


ing  the  Creator.  His  mind  and  heart  are  raised 
from  nature  to  nature's  God,  when  suddenly  he 
hears  a  sound.  What  can  it  be?  Never  had 
he  heard  singing  like  this!  His  heart  thrills 
with  emotion  for  the  strain  had  there  found  its 
accompanying  chord.  Louder  and  sweeter 
grows  the  strain  as  it  draws  nigh.  On  a  tree- 
top  hard  by  perched  the  snow-white  bird  that 
had  thus  enchanted  him.  The  man  of  God 
advances  in  silent  admiration  and  drinks  in 
the  charming  melodies.  Long  docs  he  listen  to 
that  rapturous  singing  which  ever  increases  in 
clearness  and  harmony.  He  approaches  nearer, 
and  would  fain  catch  the  wonderful  bird,  but 
flying  from  tree  to  tree  before  the  enraptured 
monk,  it  at  last  disappeared,  when, — lo!  in- 
stead of  its  singing,  the  monk  now  hears  the 
familiar  sound  of  the  convent-bell,  and  hastens 
to  answer  its  summons.  But  in  the  convent  all  is 
changed !  In  vain  he  looks  for  each  well  known 
face!  In  vain  he  seeks  those  who  had  long 
since  departed  this  life!  A  century  had  glided 
by  like  an  hour,  whilst  listening  to  the  singing 
of  that  heaven-sent  bird.* 

Such  is  the  effect  of  the  joys  of  heaven!  And 
if  the  entrancing  effect  of  a  happiness  in  heaven 
corresponding  to  the  simple  singing  of  a  bird 
here  on  earth  be  so  great,  what  must  not  be  the 
rapturous  delight  produced  by  that  music  which 
fills  the  heavenly  domain!     What  must  not  be 

♦  Cf.   "Golden  Legend." — Longfellow. 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       167 


the  overwhelming  effect  of  the  singing  of  that 
countless  angelic  choir!  Heaven  alone  can  re- 
veal what  we  cannot  understand,  nor  imagine, 
"for  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath 
it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  what  things 
God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him."— 
I  Cor.  2 :9.  "I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  Thy  glory 
shall  appear."— Ps.  16:15;  satisfied  in  mind,  sat- 
isfied in  HEART,  and  satisfied  FOREVER! 

BENEDICITE 

Blessed  art  Thou  in  the  firmament  of  heaven;  and 
worthy  of  praise,  and  glorious  for  ever. 

All  ye  works  of  the  Lord,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

O  ye  angels  of  the  Lord,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Hun  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  heavens,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt  Him 
above  all  for  ever. 

0  all  ye  waters  that  are  above  the  heavens,  bless  the 
Lord;  praise  and  exalt  him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  all  ye  powers  of  the  Lord,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  sun  and  moon,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt 
Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  stars  of  heaven,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt 
Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  every  shower  and  dew,  bless  ye  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  all  ye  spirits  of  God,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt 
Him  above  all  for  ever. 

O  ye  fire  and  heat,  bless  the  Lord ;  praise  and  exalt  Him 
above  all  for  ever. 

.0  ye  cold  and  heat,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt 

Him  above  all  for  ever. 


168 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


0  ye  dews  and  hoar  frosts,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  frost  and  cold,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt 
Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  ice  and  snow,  bless  the  Lord ;  praise  and  exalt  Him 
above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  nights  and  days,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt 
Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  light  and  darkness,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  lightnings  and  clouds,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  let  the  earth  bless  the  Lord;  let  it  praise  and  exalt 
Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  mountains  and  hills,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  all  ye  things  that  spring  up  in  the  earth,  bless  the 
Lord ;  praise  and  exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  fountains,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt  Him 
above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  seas  and  rivers,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and  exalt 
Him  above  all  for  ever. 

O  ye  whales,  and  all  that  move  in  the  waters,  bless  the 
Lord;  praise  and  exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  all  ye  fowls  of  the  air,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  all  ye  beasts  and  cattle,  bless  the  Lord;  praise  and 
exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever. 

0  ye  sons  of  men,  bless  the  Lord ;  praise  and  exalt  Him 
above  all  for  ever.— Dani^Z  3:56-82. 


study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       169 


Conclusion 

We  have  now  arrived  at  our  journey's  end. 
In  mind  and  spirit  we  have  been  speeding 
through  visible  creation  and  endeavored  to  view 
it  as  an  harmonious  whole.  The  exquisite  har- 
mony and  cooperation  plainly  visible  through- 
out the  material  universe  postulates  the  exis- 
tence of  an  All-wise  and  Beneficent  Creator.  The 
deeper  man's  knowledge  of  nature,  the  firmer 
will  be  his  convictions  that  all  things  material 
are  subject  to  universal  laws  imparted  to  them 
by  a  Supreme  Lawgiver.  "Many  things  deemed 
invisible  to  secondary  instruments,"  says  Smyth, 
"are  plain  enough  to  one  who  knows  how  to  see 
them."  Centuries  ago,  when  our  forefathers 
were  wont  to  contemplate  the  heavens  under  a 
geocentric  aspect  the  paths  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  seemed  unintelligible;  as  soon,  however, 
as  a  superior  mind  advanced  the  heliocentric 
theory,  the  harmonious  and  interdependent 
movement  of  the  solar  system  became  more  and 
more  apparent. 

Yet  in  spite  of  the  great  progress  of  the 
sciences  we  have  every  reason  to  be  humble. 
The  late  Lord  Kelvin  was  certainly  one  of  the 
greatest  among  modern  scientists.  This  learned 
man  is  quoted  as  having  said  in  a  jubilee  speech 
at  Glasgow,  in  1896:  "One  word  characterizes 
the   most   strenuous   efforts   for   the   advance- 


study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       169 


Conclusion 

We  have  now  arrived  at  our  journey's  end. 
In  mind  and  spirit  we  have  been  speeding 
through  visible  creation  and  endeavored  to  view 
it  as  an  harmonious  whole.  The  exquisite  har- 
mony and  cooperation  plainly  visible  through- 
out the  material  universe  postulates  the  exis- 
tence of  an  All-wise  and  Beneficent  Creator.  The 
deeper  man's  knowledge  of  nature,  the  firmer 
will  be  his  convictions  that  all  things  material 
are  subject  to  universal  laws  imparted  to  them 
by  a  Supreme  Lawgiver.  "Many  things  deemed 
invisible  to  secondary  instruments,"  says  Smyth, 
"are  plain  enough  to  one  who  knows  how  to  see 
them."  Centuries  ago,  when  our  forefathers 
were  wont  to  contemplate  the  heavens  under  a 
geocentric  aspect  the  paths  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  seemed  unintelligible;  as  soon,  however, 
as  a  superior  mind  advanced  the  heliocentric 
theory,  the  harmonious  and  interdependent 
movement  of  the  solar  system  became  more  and 
more  apparent. 

Yet  in  spite  of  the  great  progress  of  the 
sciences  we  have  every  reason  to  be  humble. 
The  late  Lord  Kelvin  was  certainly  one  of  the 
greatest  among  modern  scientists.  This  learned 
man  is  quoted  as  having  said  in  a  jubilee  speech 
at  Glasgow,  in  1896:  "One  word  characterizes 
the   most   strenuous   efforts  for   the   advance- 


170 


Oar  Palace  Wonderful 


ment  of  science  that  I  have  made  persever- 
ingly  for  fifty-five  years;  that  word  is  fail- 
ure. I  know  no  more  of  the  electric  and  mag- 
netic forces,  or  of  the  relation  between  ether, 
electricity,  and  ponderable  matter,  or  of  chemi- 
cal affinity,  than  I  knew  and  tried  to  teach  my 
class  students  in  my  first  session  as  professor.'* 
What  a  beautiful  lesson  in  humility  for  those 
who  profess  to  comprehend  the  constitution  of 
matter,  and  claim  to  be  able  to  explain  fully 
those  things  which  the  Almighty  has  not  as  yet 
revealed. 

The  changeableness,  too,  of  all  things  mate- 
rial is  well  calculated  to  make  us  humble,  and 
to  direct  our  minds  and  hearts  to  a  better  and 
more  lasting  worid.  Starting  with  nonentity, 
we  see,  at  the  Creator's  word,  the  space  now 
occupied  by  the  universe  suddenly  filled  with 
chaos.  This  immense  mass  of  unformed  matter 
is  set  in  motion  and  the  solar  svstems  are  the  re- 
suit.  This  little  mundane  home  of  ours, — the 
earth, — is  then  subjected  to  the  action  of  the 
elements  and,  at  God's  command,  made  to  bring 
forth  the  herb,  plant  and  tree.  Animal  life  fol- 
lows, together  with  man,  who  is  the  divinely  con- 
stituted ruler  over  all  things  temporal  and  mate- 
rial. One  generation  of  men  succeeds  the  other, 
and  keeps  pace  with  the  fleeting  years  and  cen- 
turies. What  is  born  in  time,  is  destined  to  die 
in  time.  Material  bodies, — whatever  form  they 
may  take, — are  sure  to  disintegrate  and  return  to 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       171 


the  elements.  The  body  of  a  full-grown  man  will 
at  some  time  or  another  resolve  itself  into  ap- 
proximately 100  pounds  of  oxygen,  20  pounds  of 
hydrogen,  20  pounds  of  carbon,  3  pounds  of 
nitrogen,  3  pounds  of  calcium,  and  a  few  other 
mineral  substances.  A  few  years  ago  one  of 
that  class  who  admit  the  existence  of  nothing 
in  man  save  the  above  ingredients,  willed  that 
his  body  be  cremated  and  the  ashes  taken  to 
the  top  of  the  Statue  of  Liberty  and  there  strewn 
to  the  four  winds.  Why  put  anyone  to  such  un- 
necessary^ trouble?  Willy  nilly,  our  bodies  are 
destined  to  decay.  The  substances  that  com- 
pose them  shall  then  be  carried  by  the  winds 
to  the  four  corners  of  the  globe.  Dust  is  des- 
tined to  return  to  dust.  All  forms  of  matter  are 
continually  subject  to  changes  and  transforma- 
tions. What  was  once  the  body  of  a  king  is  now 
divested  of  every  mark  or  sign  of  royalty. 

The  human  soul,  however,  is  beyond  the 
pale  of  material  and  visible  substances  and  al- 
terations. This  is  what  makes  the  spiritual 
portion  of  man  well-nigh  infinitely  more  per- 
fect than  any  form  of  corporeal  matter.  And 
this  spiritual  and  immortal  soul  of  ours  shall 
at  death  return  to  its  Creator  to  be  judged.  For 
"it  has  been  decreed  unto  man  once  to  die,  and 
after  this  the  judgment."— Heb.  9:27. 

Even  the  body  of  man  shall  share  in  the  re- 
ward or  punishment  meted  out  to  each  indi- 
vidual bv  the  Omniscient  Judge  who  called  us 


172 


Our  Palace  Wonderful 


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forth  from  nothingness  and  placed  us  here. 
We  must  all  be  manifested  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  Christ,  that  everyone  may  receive 
the  proper  things  of  the  body  according  as  he 
hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  evil." — II  Cor. 
5:10.  God  grant  that  we  may  all  have  those  con- 
soling words  addressed  to  us :  "Come  ye  blessed 
of  My  Father,  possess  ye  the  kingdom  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  And 
surely  we  may  confidently  look  forward  to  this 
blessed  consummation, 


"If  Nature's  forms  a  fountain  prove 
For  faith  unfailing,  and  a  love 
That   breeds  submission.'* 

—Faher, 

THE  DEWDROP  AND  THE  STREAM 

The  brakes  with  golden  flowers  were  crowned, 

And  melody  heard  around— 
When,  near  the  scene,  a  dewdrop  shed 

Its  lustre  on  a  violet  head, 
And  trembling  to  the  breeze  it  hung! 

The  streamlet,  as  it  rolled  along, 
The  beauty  of  the  mom  confessed, 

And  thus  the  sparkling  pearl  addressed : 

"Sure  little  drop  rejoice  we  may, 
For  all  is  beautiful  and  gay^ 
Creation  wears  her  emerald  dress, 
And  smiles  in  all  her  loveliness. 
And  with  delight  and  pride  I  see 
That  little  flower  bedewed  by  thee— 
Thy  lustre  with  a  gem  might  vie. 
While  trembling  in  its  purple  eye." 


Study  of  Creation  Begets  Charity       173 


"Ay,  you  may  well  rejoice,  'tis  true," 

Replied  the  radiant  drop  of  dew— 
"You  will,  no  doubt,  as  on  you  move, 

To  flocks  and  herds  a  blessing  prove; 
But  when  the  sun  ascends  on  high. 

Its  beam  will  draw  me  towards  the  sky; 
And  I  must  own  my  little  power— 
I've  but  refreshed  a  humble  flower." 

"Hold !"  cried  the  stream,  "nor  thus  repine- 
For  well  'tis  known  a  power  divine, 
Subservient  to  His  will  supreme. 
Has  made  the  dewdrop  and  the  stream. 
Though  small  thou  art  (I  that  allow). 
No  mark  of  heaven's  contempt  art  thou— 
Thou  hast  refreshed  a  humble  flower. 
And  done  according  to  thy  power." 

All  things  that  are,  both  great  and  small. 
One  glorious  Author  formed  them  all; 

This  thought  may  all  repinings  quell : 

What  serves  His  purpose,  serves  Him  well. 

—Author  Unknown. 


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